Sasuke and Orochimaru: NaruSaku Fans?
by ilovesoccer13
Summary: Sasuke gives Sakura a love potion to make her like Naruto, and chaos ensues. Takes place during Shippuuden. In order of importance: Naru/Saku, Hina/Kiba, Tema/Shika, Tenten/Neji or Rock Lee, depends on how you look at it, and Ino/Sai...sorta as a joke.
1. The Potion

"I don't want to kill you, Sakura," Sasuke said coldly as he paced back and forth in front of her. "...but...I will have to if you and Naruto keep coming after me like this." He stopped and looked at her. She had two solid steel chains tied to her wrists, and they were both connected to the wall so she couldn't escape. They were far underground, away from Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi, who were locked in combat with Orochimaru. Sasuke was given orders to take a hostage, so he grabbed the first person he saw: Sakura.

"Sasuke, why won't you come home with us?" Sakura asked desperately. Sasuke sighed.

"We had this conversation two years ago! You need to forget about me and go on with your life! Leave me be, I WANT to be here! What is so damn hard to understand about that?" he asked, aggravated.

"Sasuke..." Sakura tried to hold back from crying. "Even after these past two years, I still l-"

"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, WOMAN!" Sasuke yelled uncharacteristically. "I don't love you! I never will love you!" He moved so his face was inches from hers. "Get...over...me!"

"No, I won't!"

Sasuke sighed. "You aren't going to do this the easy way, are you?" He took a bottle out of his pocket as Sakura watched him nervously.

"Orochimaru's latest experiment..." Sasuke whispered, staring at the bottle of liquid. In a flash he was back by her side again and the bottle was even with her mouth. "Maybe this will give you...a push in the right direction..." Sasuke tilted the bottle, but Sakura shut her mouth tightly. He grabbed her face and squeezed until she was forced to open her mouth, and he let a drop of the liquid fall in. As Sakura stared at him in fright, he removed his hand from her face and tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm...who should I pick?" Sasuke thought aloud. Sakura looked at him, confused. Sasuke laughed, and said, "You know what, I'll do an old buddy a favor..." Sasuke walked to the center of the room, faced Sakura, and began making a series of hand signs that were so fast Sakura could barely see them. After a moment he stopped, looked straight ahead, and shouted, "Uzumaki, Naruto!" Flames erupted from his fingertips and made their way over to Sakura, encircling her head. The flames made their way slowly down her body, and as the last one made a circle around her feet, her eyes slowly closed, and she fainted. Sasuke quickly untied her wrists, and walked down a nearby passageway with Sakura in his arms. He slowly made his way to the surface, where he could hear shouts and clanging of kunai and shuriken. Orochimaru came into view as he exited the passageway, fighting Kakashi as Sai rode on a bird overhead. About 100 Narutos were running towards Orochimaru, and they all spotted Sasuke at the same time.

"Sakura-chan!" 100 voices called out at the same time. 99 clones poofed away, and the real Naruto ran towards them, ignoring Kakashi's protests. "I knew it, Sasuke! I knew you couldn't hurt her! Wait..." he froze. "Why is she unconscious?" Sasuke set Sakura on the ground as Naruto watched him, confused.

"Let's go, boy," Orochimaru ordered. "They won't bother us for a while, now that you gave her the potion. You did give it to her, right?" he asked. Sasuke nodded. "Now, I didn't tell you who to choose, but I'm sure you figured out who the best choice was, right?" he continued.

Sasuke smiled. "If killing two birds with one stone was the right choice, then yes, I did."

Orochimaru smiled as he dodged another of Kakashi's attacks, simultaneously avoiding a kunai from Sai. "Good. Let's go."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted as he heard a poof from behind him and a confused grunt. He ran towards Sasuke, but before he could reach him he heard a similar poof and Sasuke was gone. Naruto growled in anger, but then he remembered Sakura and ran towards her, kneeling down beside her.

"Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed, shaking her lightly. "Are you ali...er...okay?" He couldn't bear to think about Sakura being dead.

He heard a soft, "Huh?" from below him and saw Sakura open her eyes slowly. "Of course I'm okay, Naruto..." she said, sitting up and looking at him strangely. Then she smiled. "...now that you're here."

"Huh?" Naruto said. Had his ears deceived him?

"What's wrong, Naruto? Don't you like me?" Sakura asked, changing her face into a pout as Kakashi reached them and Sai landed next to them.

"Eh...uh...er...um...heh..." Naruto stuttered.

Sakura laughed. "You're so cute when you're nervous!" And then she leaned forward and kissed him. Naruto's eyes widened at first and he made an odd sound in his throat. After a moment he closed them and kissed her back.

Sai and Kakashi stared. "This is a more special bond than I'm used to..." Sai commented. "Is this normal?"

Kakashi watched as Sakura shoved Naruto onto the ground forcefully without breaking the kiss. "..." Kakashi was silent for a moment. Finally, he looked at Sai. "We need to get her to a hospital."


	2. Team 10 Arrives

Kakashi pulled Sakura off of Naruto roughly and threw her over his shoulder. She kicked at him angrily. "Don't try to separate me from my Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed as Sai helped Naruto up. Sakura locked eyes with Sai. "You're trying to steal him away from me, aren't you!" Sai looked up at her fearfully, slowly shaking his head no.

"Is it a gesture of romance to help someone up?" Sai whispered to Naruto.

"No Sai, it isn't..." Naruto whispered back, looking at Sakura equally fearfully.

"Then...there is definitely something wrong with her," Sai confirmed as Kakashi knocked Sakura out so she would stop fighting.

"Uh...yeah, Sai, I know...she kissed me," Naruto told him.

Kakashi was already walking away from them, so Sai and Naruto hurried to catch up. "Luckily, the Leaf Village is less than a day away," he said as they reached him. "I'm sure Tsunade can cure this once we reach it." Sai nodded.

"Uh...sensei?" Naruto called out meekly. "Are you sure we have to cure her? I mean, she kissed me! Whatever they did to her can't be all bad!"

"I have a feeling that they gave her a love potion of some kind, and that's why she kissed you, Naruto," Kakashi told him. Naruto slouched.

"Aw man! So she doesn't really like me?"

"I didn't say that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, but before Kakashi could respond, they saw three black shapes heading towards them. As the shapes got closer, Naruto recognized them. "Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji...what are you three doing here?" he asked. The three shinobi landed in front of them.

"Tsunade sent us as backup when you didn't return from your fight with Orochimaru immediately. It seems you're ok though...hey, what's wrong with Sakura?" Shikamaru asked.

"It appears she's suffered the worst. Sasuke gave her a potion, and the side effects are weird, to say the least..." Kakashi explained.

"Side effects? What side effects?" Ino asked. She looked at Sakura. "Does it cause a coma?"

"No...I did that." Kakashi said.

"Huh? Why?" Chouji asked.

"She, er...attacked Naruto..." Kakashi said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. Naruto blushed.

"With what? A kunai? A jutsu?" Ino asked curiously, looking at Naruto for signs of injury.

"Er...her lips..." Kakashi held back a laugh as he said this. Beads of sweat dropped down Team 10's heads.

"Her...lips?" Ino asked. Sai nodded.

"It seems Sakura has become quite attracted to Naruto. She was unconscious when we found her, and when she woke up she kissed Naruto, pretty forcefully," Sai said. "In fact, when I was watching them kiss, I could of swore I saw Sakura's ton-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH OF THAT!" Naruto cut off. "WHO WANTS RAMEN?" he reached into his backpack for cups of his favorite food as Team 10 and Kakashi blushed red at the image of...that.

"Sooo..." Shikamaru changed the subject. "We'll help you get back to the village, I guess. I can carry Sakura too, and give you a break," he said to Kakashi.

"Are you sure you..."

"It's no problem," Kakashi handed Sakura over to Shikamaru, but before he had a firm grip on her, she came to life and jerked away.

"Ha! I've been faking it ever since you three got here, just waiting for a chance..." she grinned at Naruto. His eyes widened.

"For once, I don't want Sakura-chan to kiss me..." Naruto thought, backing away slowly as Sakura advanced on him with a predatory grin. She leapt on him roughly, pressing her lips to his as soon as they landed on the ground.

"Whoa, girl!" Ino exclaimed, hurrying to pull her off, but Sakura wouldn't budge, and Ino couldn't even manage to break the kiss. Meanwhile, Naruto seemed to have changed his mind about Sakura as soon as she had started kissing him, and wasn't making a move to break it either. Shikamaru and Chouji made a move to help Ino, but Kakashi held them back.

"Wait, maybe they'll stop on their own. This way we can see the extent of the potion." Team 10 nodded and backed off. After two minutes of kissing Naruto, Sakura pulled away. The other five sighed in relief, only to see her take a deep breath and go right back to Naruto's lips. They frowned, and Shikamaru sat down on the ground. As time passed, the others followed, and ten minutes later, Sakura pulled away for a minute, looking into Naruto's eyes with a frown.

"Do you think that's it?" Ino whispered to Kakashi. He shrugged, and they returned their attention to Naruto and Sakura.

"Listen, Sakura..." Naruto was saying. "I like you and everything, and trust me, I LOVE kissing you, but I think even I need a break. Can we stop now for a while?"

"Whoa," Ino thought. "You know it's bad when _Naruto's _the one telling _Sakura _to take a break from kissing."

Sakura frowned at Naruto. "Something does need to be changed...but what?" Naruto nodded encouragingly, sitting up, but Sakura didn't move from on top of him.

"I know..." she said, reaching for her shirt.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Kakashi exclaimed, getting up and picking Sakura up from behind, throwing her over his shoulder again. She kicked at him again, but he blocked her attacks with his other hand, and this time Sai let Naruto get up on his own.

"That's right, you stay away," Sakura growled at Sai. Sai nodded quickly. Kakashi took the lead, carrying Sakura, and Team 10 followed behind.

"She scares me," Sai told Naruto.

Naruto nodded. "She's an amazing kisser, though."


	3. Sakura's Memories Return

Team Kakashi and Team 10 arrived at the Leaf Village a few hours later. Kakashi, Sai, and Naruto bid goodbye to Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji, before making their way to Tsunade's office. Kakashi knocked on the door with his blocking hand, and Sakura kicked him in the face. He dropped her on accident, and she stood up, giving Naruto a scary smile.

"Hehe...hey Sakura-chan..." Naruto backed away, preparing to be assaulted by Sakura for the sixth time that day. Like always, she tackled him to the ground, and Sai couldn't pull her off of him. In fact, Sakura, still convinced that Sai was trying to steal Naruto from her, raised a chakra-filled fist and hit Sai right in the McNuggets. He let out a high-pitched noise and fell to the ground. Tsunade opened the door to see Kakashi standing there, Sai on the ground clutching himself, and Naruto and Sakura making out on the ground next to him.

"We...er... have a problem," Kakashi said. Tsunade blinked at him.

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"Well, I have to say I've never seen anything like this before," Tsunade commented, looking down at Sakura, who was strapped to a bed. Tsunade showed her the photograph of Naruto again, and her face brightened. Tsunade turned it back around so Naruto wasn't visible, and Sakura frowned and tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes.

"Lemme see that..." Kakashi said, taking the photo. He showed Sakura Naruto. She brightened. He flipped it around. Sakura frowned. He flipped it back. Smile. Back again. Frown. Back again. Smile. Back again. Frown. Back...

"Give that back!" Tsunade said, snatching it out of a snickering Kakashi's hands. "Do you realize she could be like this forever?"

Kakashi frowned. "Really? You can't do anything?"

"Of course I can, I'm the best medical ninja anywhere! I was just making a point."

Kakashi sighed in relief. "So what can you do to help her?"

"Well...it doesn't seem like she was given a large quantity of the potion...but it is still very strong. However, I think I can dull the effects to where she can at least function normally. Then we'll just have to wait and see if the potion goes away. But knowing Orochimaru...the effects may never fade."

"What will happen then?"

"She's not going to attack him or anything, but Sakura will certainly like Naruto. How much, I can't say, not until I'm done with the dulling antidote. If this lasts forever...I suppose she'll just stay that way. Right now she's not even in her right mind. But I think she'll remember everything once I dull the effects. And she'll be more like her old self."

"Very well, I suppose you should do it," Kakashi said. "How fast can the antidote be made?"

Just then Shizune ran in, carrying an armful of ingredients. "Here's everything you requested!" she said, dumping them on the table next to Sakura, who was now sobbing uncontrollably.

"Shit," Tsunade said, looking down at the photograph. She quickly switched it to the other side. "Anyway, I'm starting right now. Come back tomorrow and I will administer the antidote. And be sure to bring Naruto...and Sai. That way we can see if her attitudes towards the two of them are the same."

"Okay, what time should I be here?"

"Come at 10."

"Alright... 10:30 it is," Kakashi thought to himself.

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The next morning Naruto was awoken by none other than Sai.

"Come Naruto, Kakashi said to meet Tsunade at the hospital at 10. She's got an antidote!"

"Really? Will it fix Sakura?" Naruto said with slight disappointment.

"No, it will only dull the effects."

"Perfect!" Naruto thought to himself. Sai left, and Naruto hurriedly changed and ran to the hospital. Sai was already there. They waited until 10:30 for Kakashi, and then Tsunade took out a needle with green liquid. Sakura looked at it.

"What's that? I don't want that injected into me!" she complained, struggling to break free. Even with Naruto there, she was determined not to have the needle used on her.

"Relax, Sakura...it's...Naruto's blood!" Tsunade thought up. Naruto looked at her strangely, but Tsunade gave him a look that said, "Go with it!"

"Why is it green, then?" Sakura asked.

"Cause of the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra!" Naruto cut in. "It makes my blood green!"

"Oh!" Sakura said, amazed. "I'm gonna have Naruto's blood inside of me!"

"Apparently the new Sakura is really stupid..." Naruto heard Sai mutter. They both grinned at each other. Tsunade injected the liquid into Sakura, and for a second, she looked the same. Then, slowly, Naruto could see the intelligence come back into Sakura's expression, and she shook her head roughly, looking up at them.

"What hap..." Sakura froze. Tsunade could almost hear the dam open and her memories come flooding back to her. Sakura looked up at Naruto slowly, who scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Sakura's face went from confused to slightly happy to fearful in a second. Her eyes met Naruto's and she blushed blood red as Tsunade unhooked the straps from around her. As soon as they were undone, Sakura shot up and bolted from the room, shoving past Naruto and Sai in the process. It was all over before any of them could blink.

"What...just happened?" Naruto asked.

"She ran..." Sai replied. After a moment, Naruto dashed outside and to the end of the road, looking back and forth for Sakura. He saw her turn another corner, crying, at a speed that would give Sasuke a run for his money. Naruto sighed, knowing he could never keep up.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow, even if it kills me..." Naruto decided, and he turned and ran home.


	4. Avoiding Naruto

Naruto shot out of bed the next morning, quickly getting dressed and eating breakfast. He knew Sakura was normally a late sleeper, and as they didn't have any missions this week, she would probably still be in bed. After eating his morning ramen, Naruto ran out the front door and all the way to Sakura's house.

"I hope she hasn't already left," Naruto thought. He proceeded to do the dumbest thing possible: walk into her her house, calling her name.

Sakura woke up at the sound of Naruto's voice. "Oh no, he's probably looking for me!" she thought. "There's no way I can face him after the things I did yesterday!" As Naruto's calls came closer and closer, Sakura quickly made her bed. Just as she heard his voice outside her closed door, she dived under the bed. "If only my parents were home..." she thought.

"Hey, this must be Sakura's room!" Naruto exclaimed, opening the door and looking inside. "Aw...she must have left already! The bed's made and everything..." He stepped inside and looked around. He huffed in sadness and sat down on her bed, failing to hear the painful grunt from under him. "Ah, Sakura's bed...it smells just like I thought it would..." he let himself fall onto the bed, and this time he heard a tiny squeal. "What was that?" Naruto said aloud. "It sounded like it came from under the bed..." He got off the bed and crouched down next to it, peeking under...

"There's nothing there..." Naruto thought to himself. He stood back up, and it hit him. "Oh! The window's open...it must have been the wind!"

Sakura ran down the street, her heartbeat slowly coming down after her almost being caught by Naruto. She mentally prepared herself for the day. "Places to avoid: Ichiraku Ramen, Tsunade's Office, the Hospital...People to avoid: Naruto, Sai, Kakashi, Tsunade, Shizune, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji..." Sakura sighed. "This is hopeless, Ino will have told everyone!" She looked around, and saw people giving her weird looks on the streets. "See, it's already happening...wait a second..." She looked down. "...I'm still wearing my pajamas..." She slouched, turned around, and slowly made her way back to her house, hoping Naruto had already left.

Unfortunately, when Sakura arrived at her house, Naruto was still laying on her bed. But apparently luck was on her side, because he was asleep. She climbed back in through the window silently, reaching her dresser and opening it. She picked out her clothes, and headed into the bathroom to change.

Afterwards, rather than walking back through her room and risking getting caught by Naruto, Sakura made her way to the front door, pushing it open and looking back behind her to make sure Naruto hadn't seen her. What she saw made her jaw drop. About 50 Narutos were on the road behind her, and from how they looked she could tell they had all been tiptoeing. They all froze, and then a voice rang out: "Get her!"

Sakura screamed and took off with the mob chasing her. They ran through the village loudly, while villagers stood watching in shock. After five minutes of running as fast as she could, she took a wrong turn and ended up in an alley with a dead end, and she knew what she had to do. The clones would be easy...but once she got to the real Naruto, the actual fight would begin. A clone came at her, so she threw a kunai knife at it. It went straight through him, and then straight through five others, all of them poofing away. The clones were all clustered together in the alley, so Sakura decided this was the best way to take them out. She threw two more kunai, killing ten more clones, and then three shuriken, which killed nine. Now that she was out of weapons, Sakura settled on her fists to take down the last twenty-five. Five attacked her at once, so she grabbed one by the wrists, swinging him around to hit all the others, and then punched it in the face. Next, ten came at her, and she fought them off one by one until they were all gone.

"Only ten more..." Sakura said aloud, trying not to sound tired. Then she got an idea. "Sorry Naruto, but this is gonna hurt a little!" she stomped her foot on the ground, using the last of her chakra, and the ground came up in front of her in a line. All ten Narutos yelled and disapeared. Sakura grinned.

"Got them all! All...fifty...clones..." Sakura's smile disappeared as she realized what she had just said.

Two arms wrapped around her from behind, and a voice whispered in her ear, "Gotcha."


	5. Compromise

Naruto carried a struggling Sakura over his shoulder all the way back to his house, even without knocking her out first.

"Let me go!" Sakura cried for the tenth time as they arrived.

"No," Naruto said simply, blocking a kick.

Sakura grumbled and stayed silent, secretly noticing how strong he had gotten and admiring his muscles. She stopped herself. "No, I can't think like this! It's Naruto, stupid, annoying, hyperactive, Naruto!" she thought. "...that I made out with six times." She added with a blush. "But still, I don't like him! I can't like him! It's just the potion! That's all it is, the...ooh, this is a perfect view of Naruto's butt."

Naruto carried her inside, setting her down softly on his bed. He closed and locked the window, and then stood between her and the door. "We need to talk."

"No, we don't."

"Yes, we do."

"No, we don't!"

"Yes, we do!"

"NO, WE DON'T!" Sakura raised a fist, and Naruto raised his eyebrows. He knew she was out of chakra, and it wouldn't hurt him any more than a normal punch would. Sakura saw this and sighed. "There's nothing to talk about. I think by what happened yesterday, it's pretty clear."

Naruto dropped the tough guy act and giggled, pointing a finger at her childishly. "You like me!"

A bead of sweat dropped down the back of Sakura's head and her face went red. She said through gritted teeth, "No, Naruto. That was the potion."

He frowned. "Whatever, you still like me."

"Yeah...well, not anymore. The dulling antidote took that away!" she lied.

"Nuh uh," Naruto replied. "I talked to Tsunade, you just don't attack me anymore!"

Sakura blushed at the reminder. "Oh yeah, test me then. I don't like you, Naruto!"

"Fine. I'll give you a test." Naruto paced back and forth, finally giving her a mischievous smile and sitting down next to her on the bed. He moved his face close to hers. Sakura looked away nervously. She heard Naruto whisper, "Wanna make out?"

"Ye...No!" Sakura exclaimed defensively, crossing her arms and smiling back.

Naruto frowned and stood back up. "I almost had you, I can tell. Mark my words, Sakura, you will crack." He moved his face close to hers and whispered with wide eyes, "YOU WILL." They stared at each other for a moment, and then Sakura snickered. Naruto smiled and they both started laughing.

"See Naruto, things should just stay like this. Like how they were before the stupid potion. Right?" Sakura asked.

Naruto looked at her. "Not right. This is fun, but we can have this as a couple, too. Tsunade's the best medic-nin around other than you, and she said it just dulls the effects. You might say you don't like me, but facts don't lie. I know you do, and I'll prove it, one way or another!"

Sakura looked at him angrily. "Why do you keep pushing this?"

"I thought it was obvious. Of course I like you, and I think you like me. Why wouldn't I push it?"

Sakura looked at him oddly. "That potion must have made me crazier than I thought. I completely forgot about your feelings..."

"Um, I thought it was pretty clear when I asked you if you wanted to make out with me," Naruto said bluntly.

"I thought you were joking..." Sakura replied with a blush. "So...you like me...I..._might_...like you..." she emphasized. Naruto raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, since I like you, and by FACT you like me, what's the problem?"

"I...but...I only like you because of the potion!" Sakura admitted. Naruto frowned.

"Don't remind me. Either way, Tsunade should be working on a potion to completely cure it. Might as well enjoy liking each other while we can!" he pointed out.

"But..." Sakura suddenly glared at him. "I know what this is about! You're just a hormone-crazed teenage boy who wants a girl he can temporarily make out with and not have any attachment to afterwards!" Sakura said.

"What? No!" Naruto exclaimed. The conversation was slowly going downhill.

"You perv!" Sakura shouted, smacking him across the face. Naruto fell off the bed, and recovered in time to see Sakura storm out of the room.

"Sakura, wait!" Naruto shouted after her, running out of the room. Sakura slammed the front door behind her and Naruto hurried to catch up. He ran out onto the road and grabbed one of her arms, spinning her around.

"What do you want, now?" Sakura growled. "I am not going to be your little 'make out buddy'!"

"I never said that!" Naruto exclaimed. "All I'm saying is you like me, I like you, we should make the most of it! I don't just want to make out! We can go on dates, hold hands, and even cuddle if you want to!" he said desperately. "We don't even have to make out! That's how much I like you!" Naruto added.

Sakura looked at him. "You're a fifteen year old boy, asking for a girlfriend...with no making out? I don't believe it," Sakura scoffed, jerking her arm away and walking away from him. Naruto hurried forward to walk alongside her.

"You girls are so damn confusing! Too much making out and I'm a perv, no making out and I'm some kind of freak...fine! We can do some making out...whenever you want! Wake me up at three in the morning...I don't care! Please just be my girlfriend!"

Sakura huffed. "I...guess I can give it a try. But only because of the potion, otherwise I would be totally repulsed by you," she reminded him. "And once I get an antidote...if I do...then it's over. Okay?"

Naruto nodded swiftly. "Okay! Let's make this work, I officially claim us boyfriend and girlfriend!" he smiled and hooked his arm with hers, giving her a peck on the cheek.

Sakura couldn't help but smle. "Stupid potion, why does he have to be so appealing?"


	6. Tsunade's Warning

"Ok, now that we're officially dating, we have to go on our first date together!" Naruto exclaimed thirty minutes later, as they stopped outside Ichiraku Ramen.

"Naruto, this is a little too structured for me...are you sure we should be dating at all? I mean, for one thing, I wouldn't even like you if it wasn't for this potion, and if I get an antidote, it's going to be really awkward, especially for me. How do you think I'd be able to live with myself knowing I did all that stuff with you when I didn't even really like you?"

Naruto's face fell, and as Sakura looked into his eyes she could almost see his heart shattering. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, I don't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm just having second thoughts about this."

Naruto looked at her. "Well, how about we make a deal? I'll take you on one date, and if you think it seems awkward for us to be together, then we'll break it off. And if you have fun, then...we can go from there."

"I don't know, Naruto..."

"Just give me one chance. Pleeeeease??" Naruto begged.

Sakura sighed. "Well...it's just that I guess I would be okay with dating you, but it feels weird for it to be all official...I don't really want to go out to a fancy dinner or anything. Just the two of us having fun is enough for me."

Naruto smiled. "Fine, then we don't have to go on an official date! It's what...about four now? Meet me near our team's training area in three hours, kay?"

Sakura was silent for a moment. Finally, she sighed. "Fine...but what are we going to do, exactly?"

"You'll see!" Naruto called over his shoulder, already running in the direction of his house.

"Wait! What should I wear!?" Sakura called after him.

"Something comfortable!" Naruto shouted back.

Sakura watched him go. "Something comfortable? What's that supposed to mean?" she thought, turning around to head back to her house.

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Naruto ran home as fast as he possibly could. He had a lot of preparing to do before his date with Sakura at 7. His house had just come into view, and Naruto was too busy looking at it to notice the person in front of him. He ran smack into them, and both of them fell to the ground. Naruto looked down.

"Ino? What are you doing here?" he asked.

Ino rubbed her head, before replying, "I take walks every day when I'm not on missions, and I was just passing by. What about you?"

"I live right there." Naruto pointed at his house. "I'm about to start getting ready for a date with Sakura at 7!"

Ino raised her eyebrows. "So is she still attacking you, or did Tsunade's antidote work?"

"Oh, it dulled the effects, so she still likes me, but she's not as crazy!"

Ino looked at him. "Naruto, aren't you taking advantage of Sakura a little?"

Naruto frowned. "Yeah, I guess I am, huh? She was saying something similar to that earlier. But I've got a plan! Our date is gonna be so great tonight, that potion or no potion, Sakura will like me!"

"How do you know it'll work? Maybe if she gets cured, it won't matter what she did with you, her feelings automatically go back to how they were beforehand..." Ino commented. Naruto frowned.

"I didn't think of that..."

"Maybe you should have." A voice came from behind Naruto. He spun around to see Tsunade standing behind him. "Because that's exactly the way the antidote would work, if I managed to make it," Tsunade continued.

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted. "Why?"

"I can't allow you to take advantage of my student's feelings while she is vulnerable, Naruto."

"B-but..."

"My decision stands. In fact, I've been doing some research on love potions, and I think I can have something worked out. And that's exactly the kind of antidote I'm working on. If I could, I would take away her memories too, but that might damage her brain, and I don't want to risk it. Instead, every emotion she's felt since she was given the potion by Sasuke two days ago will be erased. She'll have her memories, but won't be able to remember what she felt."

Naruto stood there in shock. "Wait..." he finally said. "does that mean you can make an antidote?"

"I'm pretty sure I can. But if I do, it won't be ready until a week after I start. But if I hear you've done something more to take advantage of her, you'll be punished. And I'm Hokage, so you shouldn't take this warning lightly, Naruto." Tsunade disappeared with a poof before Naruto could say anything more.

"..." Naruto stood there in silence as Ino watched him.

"This sucks..." Naruto finally said.

"Are you going to leave Sakura alone, now?" Ino asked.

"I can't..." Naruto said after a moment. "I have a date with her in three hours..."

"Maybe you should cancel it..."

"No. I'll use it to talk to her about what Tsunade told me." Naruto decided.

"Are you sure she should know?" Ino asked.

"Why not? She's the one that'll have to take the antidote, if Tsunade manages to make it," Naruto pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ino decided. "Good luck, then."

"Thanks..." Naruto said. Ino waved goodbye, and Naruto headed into his house. It was time to plan their date.


	7. The Date

Tsunade returned to her office after her talk with Naruto, immediately getting back to her research on potions. She flipped through a huge book, finally settling on a chapter titled, "Deadline Potions".

"Some potions can be timed," Tsunade read aloud. "which means these potions only last for a certain amount of time. The amount of time that the effects of a potion last is referred to as the Deadline. Deadlines usually differ from three to ten days. In most cases, when someone reaches their Deadline, the effects wear off and the person returns to normal. However, in other cases, when the Deadline is reached, the victim dies. The color of the potion is the only known characteristic that can help determine what type of Deadline potion it is, or if it is a Deadline potion. It is known that potions of a purplish color are never Deadline potions, and that in every case where the victim reached their Deadline and died, the potion was red. This suggests that every other color is safe as far as death, but blue potions are also known to cause insanity when the Deadline is reached."

Tsunade looked up. "I don't believe Sakura ever said what color the potion she was given was..." Tsunade thought. "SHIZUNE!" she screamed suddenly.

Shizune came running in, holding her pig. "Yes?"

"Find Sakura, and ask her what color the potion was. Her life could be in danger!" Tsunade ordered. Shizune nodded and left quickly.

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Sakura stood in front of her mirror, brushing her hair. She stopped and looked at herself with a smile. "Alright, our date's in an hour, and I'm almost ready. I probably shouldn't have spent all that time deciding what to wear..." she thought. She looked down at her outfit. It was the same thing she wore every day. "Well...he did say comfortable..."

Sakura had a quick snack, unsure if they were going to eat, and then after a few more minutes of relaxing, she set out on the fifteen-minute walk to Team Kakashi's training area. When she arrived, Naruto was already there, wearing a black tux and setting up a picnic on the grass.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled angrily. "You said to wear something comfortable!" she blushed in embarrassment, looking down at her outfit.

"Tuxes are comfortable to me," Naruto said with a smile as she sat down on the picnic blanket. "Don't worry, you look beau...pretty..." Naruto remembered Tsunade's warning. "Keep it friendly..." he thought.

Sakura frowned up at him, noticing his change in wording. He sat down next to her, noticing the expression on her face. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing..." Sakura said. Naruto smiled obliviously.

"Okay, well, I packed us dinner: ramen!" Naruto exclaimed, opening the basket next to them.

"Naruto!" Sakura complained.

"What?" Naruto said with a smile. Sakura rolled her eyes but smiled anyway as Naruto handed her a cup of his favorite food along with some chopsticks.

They both ate in silence, and when they were done, Sakura pointed out, "It's getting dark, I can hardly see anything..."

"Yup," Naruto agreed. "And this is where the real fun begins!"

Even in the dark he could see Sakura's jaw drop. "YOU PERV!"

"Wha-" Naruto dodged her fist. "I didn't mean it like that!" he defended. Sakura froze.

"Oh..." She blushed. "What did you mean, then?"

"Look up at the sky..." Naruto said softly. Sakura looked up, and Naruto let out a loud whistle. A loud noise filled the air, along with a _swish_, and fireworks exploded in front of their eyes.

Sakura gasped. "How'd you get this set up so quickly?" she asked.

"Eh, it was no big deal. Kiba owed me a favor, and his mom has some friends in the firework business." Naruto explained.

Sakura kept her eyes trained on the sky as more fireworks were set off. "It's so pretty..." she said.

"Yeah..." Naruto agreed, staring up with her.

"Thanks for setting this up, Naruto..." Sakura looked down at him as the fireworks lit up their faces. "It was really nice of you."

"No problem," Naruto said, meeting her eyes. He leaned towards her until his face was an inch from hers, and saw her close her eyes and tilt her head.

"Tsunade can shove it..." Naruto thought, closing the gap between them. One of his hands moved to her waist and Sakura's went to Naruto's hair, running through it softly. Naruto propped them up with his remaining hand as Sakura deepened the kiss.

"That potion must be kicking in..." Naruto thought. Suddenly the reality of what they were doing hit him, and he pulled away, realizing how much trouble he was in.

Sakura looked at his face, confused. "Are you okay, Naruto?" she asked.

"Shit shit shit shit..." Naruto whispered.

Sakura frowned at him, her face turning slightly red with anger. "What's wrong, you were the one that kissed me, so if you didn't like it, that's your own fault..."

"No, that's not it, you're a great kisser, Sakura..." Naruto cut her off. "Tsunade's gonna kill me for this, though..."

"What, why? I thought you said this was okay until she found an antidote..." Sakura said, confused.

"She...did find an antidote, I think. She just has to make it. And when it's finished, you won't remember any of the emotions you felt while you were under the influence of the potion."

"Which means...you knew our relationship would be over as soon as I took the antidote...but that I would remember everything...and you still kissed me?" she asked, staring at him.

"Yeah..." Naruto started, looking up at her.

SMACK! The force of it knocked Naruto over, and before he could recover, Sakura was up and running, tears streaming down her face.

"Sakura, wait!" Naruto shouted after her. "I was going to tell you...I'm sorry!" Sakura didn't turn around, and pretty soon she was gone.

Naruto smacked himself in the head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he exclaimed.

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Sakura ran home, crying. When she arrived, she saw a black shape about to knock on her door, so she ran up to it.

"Shizune, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked, wiping her tears from her eyes in an effort to look and sound normal.

Shizune turned around. "Sakura, I was just looking for you. I have to ask you a question: What color was the potion Sasuke gave you?"

Sakura thought back to what seemed like weeks ago, but in reality was only two days before.

"Clear. It was clear." Sakura said with a nod.

"Okay, I'll report this to Tsunade immediately," Shizune replied.

"Why is it so important?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know, Tsunade just told me to ask you immediately." Shizune said.

"Oh...ok then. I guess I'll just go to bed." Sakura told her. Shizune nodded and then was gone. Sakura entered her house and tiptoed to her room so she wouldn't wake her parents up. She changed into her pajamas, letting her tears return as she laid down on her bed. Sakura closed her eyes to fall asleep, half-wishing she would never wake up.


	8. The Deadline

Tsunade was still sitting in her office doing research when Shizune returned. Tsunade looked up.

"Did you find her?"

Shizune nodded. "She said it was clear."

Tsunade flipped through the book, until she found a list of colors under "Deadline Potions". She scanned the list until she found Clear.

"Not much is known about Clear Deadline Potions, other than that there is a chance that the victim's entire memory could be wiped when the Deadline is reached. This occurred in approximately one in four cases," Tsunade read aloud. She looked up at Shizune. "This isn't good. She's not in danger of dying, but she may lose her memory." Tsunade spent a moment writing on a piece of paper, and then handed it to Shizune. "Get me these ingredients immediately. It's been two days since Sakura was given the potion, which means her Deadline could be anywhere from tomorrow to eight days from now. Now that I know exactly what type of potion it is, if I hurry, I might be able to have an antidote to completely cure her ready in five days, but I can't go any faster than that. We'll just have to hope she has at least a week-long Deadline, that way I'll be able to give her the antidote. Otherwise, we'll just have to hope she doesn't lose her memory. Luckily, she has a 75 percent chance of making it. Still, we can't afford to take that risk."

Shizune nodded and left at a run.

Once she was alone in her office, Tsunade sighed and took a drink of sake. "I'm not getting any sleep tonight."

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Naruto was walking home in the dark, thinking about how to fix things with Sakura, when he thought he heard footsteps behind him. He spun around. "Who is it?" he asked. Nobody answered. "I'm probably just being paranoid..." Naruto thought, continuing his walk. He looked up and jumped back in shock.

"H-hey Naruto..." Hinata stuttered from directly in front of him.

Naruto looked at her, his expression returning to normal. "Hey Hinata. Why are you out this late?"

"U-uh...I heard about you and Sakura dating, and then how you had a fight," Hinata told him.

Naruto cocked his head. "Geez, word travels fast around here."

Hinata laughed nervously. "Yeah...s-so...do you think y-you'd...are you busy tomorrow?" Hinata blurted out.

Naruto put a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm...I don't think so, other than convincing Sakura not to hate me..." He looked at her. "Why?"

"Um...I was just wondering if maybe...you wanted to have lunch with me..." Hinata said nervously.

"Hmm...lunch with Team 8..." Naruto thought aloud.

"Um...actually..." Hinata tried to correct, but Naruto cut her off.

"That sounds like fun and all, and I haven't seen Kiba and Shino in a while, but I'm gonna be too busy to make it. Sorry Hinata," Naruto said regretfully.

"O-oh...that's ok...I'll see you later then, I guess..." Hinata replied, not bothering to mention that she had meant it as a date with her.

"Okay!" Naruto said happily. "See ya, Hinata!" he ran off towards his house.

Hinata sighed and watched him leave. "I thought m-maybe since Sakura was mad, h-he'd say yes..." she thought. "I...guess I was wrong..." She looked back up at Naruto's retreating back. "I guess I'll be watching from afar forever..." Hinata smiled to herself as she got an idea. "That might not be so bad..." She focused her eyes on Naruto and whispered, "Byakugan!" Hinata snickered to herself as she looked through his clothes, before turning and running off.

Meanwhile, Naruto reached his house a few minutes later, entering his bedroom and hopping into bed.

"Tomorrow...I make up with Sakura..." Naruto thought. His eyes slowly closed, and he fell asleep almost instantly.

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Sasuke and Orochimaru hopped from tree to tree in the pitch black, Kabuto close behind trying to keep himself from attacking Orochimaru. Orochimaru looked back at Kabuto nervously. "Part of me wishes I had never made that love potion..." he said, glaring at Sasuke. "When you tested it on Kabuto, you just had to pick me, didn't you?"

Sasuke smirked. "Who else would I have picked? Certainly not myself."

Orochimaru rolled his eyes and looked back behind them. "Hey, when is your Deadline supposed to be, Kabuto?" he yelled.

"Either tomorrow or the day after, Lord of Sexyness," Kabuto replied.

Orochimaru sighed. "I might kill him before that," he muttered to Sasuke.

"Kabuto might lose his memory, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. I don't really want to bother with an antidote. It will take too much time, and we need to get away from our old hideout before more Leaf Ninja show up," Orochimaru replied.

"Lord Orochimaru, how long do you think Sakura's Deadline will be?" Sasuke asked, trying to keep the curiosity out of his voice, but Orochimaru saw through it.

"Still worried about that girl? Relax, the Fifth Hokage is the best medic there is. She'll make an antidote. That was just meant to slow Kakashi and his little brats down."

"I'm not _worried _about her," Sasuke replied sourly. "I'm just curious about the effects of the potion."

"Fine. If you must know, her Deadline should take about five days, just like Kabuto's. We gave him the potion four days ago, which mean he should be back to normal by around tomorrow, as he said."

"Or he could lose his memory," Sasuke pointed out.

"Correct. Let's hope for that option..." Orochimaru said, glancing back at Kabuto, who gave him an enthusiastic wave and a seductive smile. Sasuke glanced back at Kabuto, then met Orochimaru's eyes.

"Kill him?"

"Kill him."

They both reached for their weapons.


	9. Escaping the Parents

Naruto's alarm went off at 6 in the morning, like he'd planned. "Perfect. There's no way Sakura'll escape this time!" Naruto thought to himself. "And this time I'm going to fix everything. No more taking advantage of her. As much as it's gonna kill me, I have to let Tsunade give her the antidote," he decided, getting dressed and running out the front door. It was still dark outside, and it took Naruto a while to locate the right street, but in half an hour he had arrived at Sakura's front door. So he wouldn't wake up her parents, Naruto decided to go around the side of the house and through Sakura's window. Like he had hoped, Sakura was still asleep. He stood next to her bed, staring down at her for a moment. Finally, he reached down and shook her lightly.

"What now, Mother?" Sakura moaned, rolling over without looking at him.

"Sakura, wake up!" Naruto whispered. Sakura jumped about a foot in the air, turning around to look at him.

"Naruto!" Sakura whispered back angrily. "Get away from me, I don't want to see you until I'm cured!"

Naruto sat down next to her. "Well, that's too bad. I'm still your friend, and your boyfriend."

"Not anymore. It's over," Sakura said angrily. To her surprise, Naruto shrugged calmly.

"I was expecting that. But like I said, I'm still you're friend, and we need to go talk to Tsunade to see if she's thought of something to cure you. Then you can decide whether you even want to talk to me anymore, ok?"

Sakura glared at him. "It's six thirty, baka!" She punched him on the side of his head, and he fell to the ground. Naruto got up, rubbing the side of his head.

"You know what? This is the reason everyone's so much smarter than me! Who knows how many brain cells you've killed! Now hurry up and get ready, we're going to see Tsunade whether you like it or not!" Naruto said with a smile.

"And what if I don't?" Sakura said with a smirk.

Naruto scratched his head thoughtfully, then smiled at her. "Then I do this!" He lept onto the bed next to her and pinned her down, tickling her roughly.

"Let...me...go!" Sakura said through her laughter.

"We're going to see Tsunade!" Naruto said forcefully, smiling down at her without stopping.

"Fine, fine! We'll go see her!" Sakura forced out, trying to recover as Naruto finally stopped. They smiled at each other, before Naruto realized that he was on top of her and blushed, practically throwing himself off the bed.

Sakura sat up, a similar blush covering her face. Once their faces returned to normal, Sakura said, "Um...Naruto, could you get out of here so I can get dressed, then?" she asked.

Naruto looked at her suspiciously. "How do I know you won't go back to sleep?" he asked.

"Fine," Sakura huffed. "I'll go change in the bathroom, then!" She gathered a change of clothes and walked over to her bedroom door. She rolled her eyes at a triumphant Naruto, before yanking the door open...only to see her parents glaring at her on the other side, their arms crossed in front of them.

"Uh..." Sakura said, looking from them to Naruto. "...I can explain..."

Naruto looked up at Sakura's parents, rubbing the back of his head. "Hehe..."

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Naruto sat at the Haruno breakfast table awkwardly, Sakura's parents standing at either side of him, glaring at him menacingly. Sakura watched from across the table. Knowing her parents, if they had a bright light, it would definitely be shining on Naruto right then.

"What is your relationship with my daughter?" Sakura's father asked.

"We're friends...just friends..." Naruto said quickly, for a second actually glad Sakura had broken up with him.

"And what were you doing in her room, at 6 in the morning?" Sakura's mother asked.

"Six thirty..." Sakura muttered, receiving a glare from her mom.

"I was trying to wake her up, so we could go see the Hokage," Naruto answered truthfully.

"Why would you want to see the Hokage?" both parents asked at the same time. Naruto shot a worried look at Sakura. They both knew where this was going to lead to.

"You think it's time?" Naruto asked Sakura. Her parents looked at both of them confused.

"Yeah. If we tell them the truth, they'll freak out..." Sakura replied.

"What are you talking about?" her parents asked. Suddenly a voice came from outside.

"Release!"

Both Naruto and Sakura disappeared. Sakura's parents looked around, confused.

"Shadow clones!" her father finally said. They both rushed to the front door and saw two shapes running down the street, side by side. "Damn it!" Sakura's dad said angrily. "What has gotten into that girl these past few days? All she's done is hang out with that boy!"

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Sakura grinned at Naruto as they left her screaming parents behind. "Good thinking, Naruto!" she asked. "I'm surprised you came up with those shadow clones so fast, before they could grab the real you and me!"

"Well, I haven't lost all my brain cells quite yet!" Naruto replied, blushing at her compliment. "Now to head to Tsunade's office!"


	10. A Talk with Rock Lee

When Naruto and Sakura reached Tsunade's office, they barged in loudly to find her asleep with her head on her desk, covered in drool, with an empty bottle of sake sitting next to her. Tsunade jumped and looked around, spotting them quickly. One of her eyes twitched as she looked from Naruto to Sakura.

"Why did you wake me up so early?" she asked with a yawn, rubbing her eyes. Naruto rubbed the back of his head, smiling nervously.

"Sorry, Tsunade. We just wanted to see if you had made any progress with the antidote!"

"Speak for yourself," Sakura grumbled. "You took me here against my will!"

"If I remember correctly, a few minutes ago you were just complimenting my brilliance," Naruto looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.

"That doesn't mean I wanted to wake up early, run all the way here, and then wake Tsunade up early after what was obviously a long night of research..." Sakura responded, matching his expression.

"Enough," Tsunade interrupted. "What was it you wanted to know?"

"We want to know everything you've found out about the potion, and if you've made an antidote yet," Naruto reminded her.

"Oh...yes, I can tell you, just let me wake up..." Tsunade said, letting out another yawn and stretching.

Sakura glanced at the bottle of sake. "Tsunade-sama..."

"I am not hungover!" Tsunade blatantly denied. "I can easily recall everything I learned...just let me think for a second..." Tsunade closed her eyes and rubbed her temples slowly. "Ok...I remember now. The potion you were given is a type of Deadline Potion. This means exactly what it sounds like...it had a Deadline. Different things can happen to the victim when they reach their Deadline, which usually takes from three to ten days. That means you could go back to normal anytime between right this second and a week from now. With your particular potion, you could either return to normal...or you could completely lose your memory." Tsunade finished gravely.

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other. "Did you know that?" Sakura asked.

"No, otherwise I would have told you," Naruto replied honestly. Sakura nodded, turning back to Tsunade, who continued.

"I may be able to whip up an antidote, but it would take five days at the least. If you reach your Deadline before then, there's a 25 percent chance you could lose your memory. However, I discovered something important last night that doesn't have much to do with an antidote, but it would be helpful for you to know. Apparently, of the 75 percent who didn't lose their memories when reaching the Deadline, most of them had someone sort of give them a tour of their lives: re-associate with everyone and everything they know. It could just be a coincidence, but the statistics show it helps. Maybe you could do that today, while I get started on the antidote." Tsunade recommended.

"Cool! I can be the one to give the tour!" Naruto exclaimed. "Is that okay with you, Sakura?" he asked.

Sakura shrugged. "Sure, I guess..."

Apparently Naruto had forgotten that she still liked him.

"Alright, let's go!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing Sakura's hand and yanking her out of the office.

"Naruto, let go!" Sakura complained as he pulled her down the street, looking down at their hands and blushing nonetheless.

"No way! You could lose your memory any moment, and I want to be here to help!" Naruto shouted.

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes, but the potion kept her from being disappointed at having to hold Naruto's hand.

"Okay, here's what we need to do. We're going to be running around the village anyway, so that's covered, but we need to make a list of all the major people, got it?" Naruto told her.

"Sure...let's go with that," Sakura replied. Naruto headed to a nearby store and bought a pen and paper, and they sat down at Ichiraku Ramen to make the list, and so Naruto could eat.

Sakura wrote every name she could think of down, and handed it to Naruto so he could check it over. Naruto scanned the list.

**_Sai_**

**_Kakashi-sensei_**

**_Hinata_**

**_Kiba_**

**_Ino_**

**_Shino_**

**_Chouji_**

**_Shikamaru_**

**_Shizune_**

**_Tsunade_**

**_Tenten_**

**_Rock Lee_**

**_Neji_**

**_Might Guy_**

**_Gaara_**

**_Temari_**

**_Kankuro_**

Naruto finished reading. "How are we supposed to meet the Sand-nin?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Gaara's visiting Tsunade for a meeting, and Kankuro and Temari are escorting him. They're supposed to arrive today, I think," Sakura told him.

"Oh, well then it looks good to me, except we've already seen Tsunade today, so we can cross her off."

"Yeah, but now that I think about it, I saw Shizune last night, so shouldn't that be okay, too?" Sakura asked. Naruto tapped his chin.

"I suppose so...well, let's go meet everyone...again!"

At that moment, Sakura felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Rock Lee.

"Hey, Rock Lee!" Naruto exclaimed, turning around to look at him. Just the person we were looking for! Well..." he scanned the list. "One of fifteen people, anyway. What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I was just looking for Sakura," Rock Lee responded.

"Well, you found me!" Sakura said amiably. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Ah, the usual..." Rock Lee got down on one knee. "Haruno Sakura, if you will be my girlfriend, then I promise to protect you-"

"No Lee."

Rock Lee frowned. "Darn. I thought for sure you would say yes this time."

"Sorry Lee, but I like Naruto..." Sakura blurted out, her eyes quickly widening as she clapped a hand to her mouth.

Rock Lee looked from Naruto to Sakura in shock. A satisfied smile crossed Naruto's face and he let out an, "Ah..." before crossing his arms behind his head.

Sakura removed her hand from her mouth and looked at him. "Stop looking so smug!"

She turned her attention to Lee. "It's only because of a potion."

Rock Lee looked at her curiously. "A potion? What kind of potion?"

Sakura proceeded to explain the whole story, and when she was finished, Rock Lee looked at her, surprised.

"That is quite a problem. Is there any way I can help?"

"Well, right now I'm just trying to get reacquainted with everyone. Do you know where the rest of your team is?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, the Hyuugas are throwing a dinner party tonight, and they should all be getting ready. Hinata invited her whole team, too. I heard she was looking to invite Naruto today while you both had lunch, but you turned her down," Rock Lee told them.

"What?" Naruto asked, confused. "She said she wanted me to have lunch with Team 8..." Naruto told them.

Rock Lee laughed. "I doubt that. You must have misunderstood."

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. Either way, it's too late to go. I'm spending all day with Sakura, anyway."

As Lee and Naruto continued their conversation, the Sakura in question tried to keep her face from turning red.

"It's just the potion, I don't really like him, it's just the potion, I'm not jealous..." Sakura tried to calm herself down, but it wasn't working. "I can't believe she asked him out to lunch! Was it before or after our date? Either way...that little..."

"Yeah, I did see that the other day...it was quite interesting; I never thought Neji swung that way..." Rock Lee was saying to a nodding Naruto, when suddenly they were interrupted by a loud outburst of "SLUT!" from Sakura.

Two heads jerked towards her. "What's wrong, Sakura?" Naruto asked, seeing the steam coming out of her ears.

Sakura took deep breaths, calming herself down slowly. "Nothing, I'm fine..." she finally said quietly.

Naruto looked at her strangely. "If you say so..."

"Well, I better be off. I still have to go get clothes for the party," Rock Lee told them, turning away with a wave.

"Hey, Rock Lee, what time does it start?" Sakura asked.

"Um...I believe it's at 6..." Rock Lee said thoughtfully.

"Ok, thanks!" Sakura replied cheerfully, giving him a big, fake smile. Rock Lee smiled back uncertainly, before walking off.

Once he was gone, Sakura grabbed Naruto's shirt and pulled his face close to hers. "We're going to that party." With that, she dragged him off to the nearest clothing store.


	11. Shopping for a Dress

"But Sakura!" Naruto argued as she pulled him through the store. "What about meeting our friends?"

"Most of them will be there!" Sakura shot back without stopping.

"We weren't even invited..." Naruto told her.

"Well, apparently _Hinata _was planning on inviting you, and I don't care whether I was invited or not, I'm going!" Sakura said bitterly.

"Uh...what exactly do you have against Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Sakura stopped in her tracks and avoided looking at him. "Uh...nothing!" Sakura turned around and gave him a big smile. "I just love parties! Yup, I sure do! Parties, parties, parties!"

Naruto stared at her. "O-kay..."

"Yup!" Sakura continued. "I'm just upset she didn't invite me, that's all!" Sakura gave him another huge smile.

"Oh...that makes sense..." Naruto agreed. Sakura nodded, the smile still plastered on her face, and then spun around and dropped it to an angry frown.

"I don't care whether I'm angry at him or not," Sakura thought. "She should NOT have asked him out why I'm under the influence of this potion, how does she think that'll make me feel?" Sakura asked herself. A small voice in the back of her head started to say that maybe Hinata hadn't known about the potion, but Sakura cut it off. "Or course she knew, I wouldn't date him willingly!" Sakura told herself.

"Uh-huh..." Inner Sakura replied sarcastically. Sakura rolled her eyes and stopped as they reached the women's section, releasing Naruto.

"Okay, over there are the men's tuxes, you go over there while I go get a dress," Sakura told him.

"Sakura, don't you remember? I already have a tux," Naruto said with a smirk. Sakura blushed as she was reminded of their date.

"Fine then, you can go home I guess..." she finally said.

"No way, I'm still worried about you and your memory. I'll help you pick out a dress!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Um...are you sure that's..."

Naruto dashed off before Sakura could finish.

She was looking through some black dresses a few minutes later, when Naruto ran up and threw something at her. She pulled it off her face and looked at the dress.

"You want me to wear _this_?" she asked. He nodded.

"It's pretty!"

Sakura looked back down at the dress. "Naruto, puke green with frills everywhere is never pretty, especially when you add the fact that it's three sizes too small," Sakura told him.

Naruto looked from her to the dress, blushing in embarrassment. "Sorry, I'll go pick out something else."

Sakura shook her head as he ran off, throwing the dress in a random direction.

"Hey!" a familiar voice cried out. Sakura spun around to see Ino peeling the dress off her face.

"Sorry Ino, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just picking out a dress for the Hyuuga party," Ino told her.

"WHAT?"

"What's wrong with that? Hinata invited me..." Ino told her. Steam came out of Sakura's ears.

"WHY IS SHE INVITING EVERYONE EXCEPT ME!?" Sakura shouted right in Ino's face.

Ino looked at her in shock. "I...don't...know..." she said meekly.

Sakura gripped Ino's shoulders and said through gritted teeth, "I think I'm losing it Ino. I like Naruto a little more than I did yesterday, I want to completely destroy Hinata, and I'm really really moody right now, and it's not even that time!"

"Calm down, Sakura!" Ino told her. "Maybe the dulling antidote is wearing off. It's no big deal, I'll go ask Tsunade to make a new one for you after we finish here, okay?"

Sakura sighed. "Okay, thanks. I swear I'm losing my mind, though. I feel like I'm gonna explode!"

"Maybe it's that big forehead of yours," Ino poked it.

Sakura glared. "Ino-pig!"

"Billboard-brow!"

Ino stomped off angrily, but they smiled at each other when she turned around. Ino waved goodbye as she disappeared behind another aisle of dresses.

Sakura turned around to see an armload of hideous dresses in her face. "Naruto! Get those out of my face, they're disgusting!"

The dresses fell to the floor to reveal Naruto's tired face. "I thought they looked okay..." he muttered, looking up when Sakura's hand closed around his wrist.

"Here, you follow me. I'll show you what a good dress looks like. I'll try one on, and you tell me how it looks, okay?"

Naruto nodded. "Gotcha!"

Sakura rifled through some dresses, finally picking a few and entering the dressing room. The first one she came out wearing was one of the black ones she had been looking at earlier. She spun around in front of Naruto. "Well?"

"You look like you're going to a funeral," Naruto said bluntly.

"Oh...but I am..." Sakura muttered with an evil laugh.

Naruto stared at her. "O-kay, Sakura's gone crazy..." he thought to himself.

The next dress Sakura came out wearing was a slightly darker shade of pink than her hair, making it almost look red.

"Hmm...better, but it might be too much pink..." Naruto criticized.

"Oh, what do you know? You can't even pick out a decent dress!" Sakura argued.

"So? I can still tell what looks good and what doesn't!" Naruto shot back. Sakura huffed and turned around.

The third dress was green. Naruto's face turned red when he saw it. "Uh...Sakura..." he pointed downwards.

Sakura looked down and saw that it showed A LOT of cleavage. She covered herself, avoiding his eyes, and ran back into the dressing room, leaving Naruto to his daydreams.

When Sakura came out in the fourth dress, drool ran down Naruto's face. "What? Does it show too much?" Sakura looked down at herself in the dark red dress. "No, it doesn't...Naruto, what's wrong with you?"

"You look pretty..." Naruto said dumbly, the expression on his face not changing. Sakura rolled her eyes, and went to change back into her normal clothes, all the same holding back a smile.

"Let's go..." Sakura said when she came out. She dragged him to the cash register and paid for the dress, and they left to go get Naruto's tux from his house.

Meanwhile, Ino had not taken nearly as long to pick out a dress, and was just arriving at Tsunade's office.

She politely knocked on the door, and heard someone say, "Come in!"

Ino entered the office to see Tsunade grinding ingredients together frantically using a mortar and pestle.

"What is it, Ino?" Tsunade asked, not taking her eyes off her work.

"Um, sorry to bother you, but I think the antidote you gave to Sakura is wearing off..." Ino told her.

Tsunade sighed. "This is just what I need. I've got to do all this paperwork, make an antidote so Sakura's memory won't get to chance to be wiped, and now I've got to remake that antidote..."

Ino started to mutter an apology, but Tsunade cut her off. "It's not your fault, thanks for telling me...and if you see Sakura, let her know I'll have it ready but tomorrow afternoon. With all this work, it'll take longer than last time..."

Ino nodded and left.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sakura and Naruto arrived at Naruto's house a few minutes later, and they both got changed into their outfits. Naruto came out of his bedroom at the same time Sakura came out of the bathroom across the hall, and they stood face to face.

"You look..." Sakura started, looking him up and down.

"...amazing..." Naruto finished, staring at her. He held out his hand and she took it. Who says friends can't hold hands?

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Alright, we can stop to rest..." Orochimaru said. He and Sasuke landed next to a lake and sat on separate rocks.

"So...about the potion..." Sasuke started again.

"Boy, if you have all these doubts, why did you want to be the one to give her the potion?" Orochimaru asked.

"I don't have doubts," Sasuke muttered, crossing his arms defiantely. "So...Sakura's Deadline is definitely two days from now. There's nothing that can change that?"

"Five days, give or take a day. That's the Deadline."

"Give or take a day? You didn't mention that earlier. Kabuto could have been back to normal by now, then, so why did we kill him?"

"Eh, I've always hated that kid."

"Whatever. So the Deadline can actually be from four to six days?" Sasuke asked.

"Sure. Whatever." Orochimaru said, obviously bored with the conversation. "Let's go. We have a lot of planning to do for our attack on the Mist Village."

Sasuke nodded, and they both sprung back up into the trees.


	12. Dinner with the Hyuuga Clan

As Naruto and Sakura walked down the street, hand in hand, Sakura asked, "What time is it?"

Naruto looked around. "I don't know, I'm not wearing a watch, and there aren't any clocks around."

"It's 5:30," a voice came from behind them. Sakura and Naruto spun around to see Shikamaru and Chouji in similar black tuxes. Shikamaru looked up from his watch. "Oh, Hinata and Neji invited you guys too?"

Sakura seethed with anger as Naruto replied, "No, I think Hinata was going to invite me though, so I'm going."

"What about you Sakura...whoa!" Chouji shouted. "I didn't think anyone's face could get that red..."

Shikamaru looked at Sakura, then over at Naruto. "What's wrong with her?"

Naruto looked at Sakura and shrugged. "I don't know, she's been really weird all day..."

Sakura's eye twitched as she looked at the three of them. She took a deep breath...

"AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO WASN'T INVITED TO THIS STUPID PARTY!" she screamed as Konohamaru ran by.

"I wasn't invited!" Konohamaru shouted back at them. Sakura let out a growl and pulled a shuriken out of her bag, flicking it in Konohamaru's direction without looking.

The four of them heard an "Oof!" and a thump as someone fell to the ground.

"I always hated that kid..." Sakura muttered. Naruto looked nervously from Sakura to Konohamaru, who lay motionless on the ground.

"Um...let's go..." Naruto said, yanking Sakura in the opposite direction. Chouji and Shikamaru hurried after them.

"Ok, we should get there right on time, if my calculations are correct," Shikamaru told them, taking another look at his watch.

A faint, "Oh my God! I don't feel a pulse!" came from somewhere behind them, but they ignored it.

"So, did you guys hear anything specific about this party?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, Hinata said that everyone would have dinner with her family, and then there would be a sleepover for all of us, while the adults go to sleep," Chouji said. "And she also said that since it's a Hyuuga party, both she and Neji are considered hosts."

"Ok, I wonder what the sleepover'll be like?" Naruto asked.

"Oh no!" Sakura suddenly said. "Since we didn't know it was a sleepover, we didn't bring anything to sleep in," she said to Naruto.

"Oh, I'm sure I can borrow something from Neji, and you from Hinata..." Naruto thought up.

"Great...I get to borrow clothes from _Hinata_..." Sakura grumbled.

"What was that?" Naruto asked.

"Uh...I said, 'Great idea Naruto!', that's all."

"Oh, ok!"

Shikamaru and Chouji rolled their eyes.

"Hey, we're here," Shikamaru pointed out. He looked down at his watch. "And right on time. It's 5:55."

"Cool, guess we should just go inside..." Naruto said, stopping at the front door. He raised his hand to push it open, when suddenly it was yanked open from the other side.

Hinata stood in front of them in a green dress. "Hey N-Naruto, S-Sakura...what are you two doing here?"

"Well, I realized that you had tried to invite me yesterday, so I came! And I have to watch out for Sakura, since her memory could vanish any moment, and I figured you wouldn't mind if she came!" Naruto told her.

"O-oh, no, it's n-no problem," Hinata said, giving him a strange look and obviously not believing him. She ushered the four of them in anyway. Sakura gasped as they entered a huge room with a long table in the middle. "Our d-dining room..." Hinata explained. "You can g-go ahead and sit d-down..."

Naruto and Sakura looked around as Shikamaru and Chouji headed towards the table. Kiba, Shino, Ino, Rock Lee, Tenten, Neji, Might Guy, and even Sai were there, along with most of the Hyuuga clan.

Sakura sat down next to Sai, and Naruto sat down on the other side of Sakura.

"Hey Sai, you were invited too?" Naruto asked.

"Of course. Why not?" Sai replied.

Sakura sighed. At this point, she was beyond anger.

"Hey, you guys," a voice came from behind them. Naruto turned around.

"Kakashi-sensei! You too?" Naruto asked.

"Yup, Neji thought I would enjoy being here since Might Guy was invited. He was sadly mistaken, but I appreciate the gesture, and I haven't been to a dinner party in a while. Plus..." he leaned in towards them and whispered, "I hear there's going to be a sleepover afterwards! I'm looking forward to it."

The rest of Team Kakashi stared up at him. "Kakashi-sensei, that's only for the kids," Sakura told him.

Kakashi frowned. "Ah, fiddlesticks!" He took a seat next to Naruto.

Suddenly, a loud clanging came from the head of the table, and when they looked up, Hinata's father was standing up, tapping on the side of a wine glass with a fork. "Hello, everyone. Now that all of Hinata and Neji's little friends are here..."

"And Kakashi finally showed up!" someone interrupted.

"Yes, yes, of course. At any rate, now that everyone's here, we can eat. Enjoy!" He bowed to everyone, and platters of food were brought out by dozens of waiters. The covers were lifted, and almost everyone licked their lips.

"Dig in!" Naruto cried happily to Sakura, and threw his face into his plate as everyone else daintily picked up their forks and knives.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, grabbing his head and yanking him back up. "You have to be fancy! Like this!" she demonstrated how to handle the forks and knives.

"Fine..." Naruto grumbled. He picked up his fork and knife, but the fork slipped through his fingers and clattered to the floor. Sakura's face turned red.

"Naruto, you idiot!" she whispered so only he could hear, just as polite chatter started up and down the table.

Naruto looked to his left, then turned back to Sakura. "I got this..." When Kakashi was busy talking to Kiba, who was on his left, Naruto reached over and stole his fork. Sakura gasped.

"Naruto, you can't take Kakashi-sensei's fork! How is he supposed to eat?"

Naruto shrugged. "Who cares, I got a fork."

"Give that back!" Sakura hissed, trying to grab it from him, which resulted in a tug-of-war between the two of them.

"Fine, take it," Naruto said, letting go before Sakura could react. She was jerked backwards by her own force, and the fork flew out of her hands. Both of them watched with shocked looks as the fork flew through the air in slow motion, headed straight towards Neji, who was deep in conversation with Tenten. Neji moved his hand from on top of the table to his lap just as the fork landed right where his hand had been, sticking itself into the table with a thud. Both Neji's and Tenten's heads jerked towards the fork, staring at it for a moment, and then looking at each other. Neji looked away from Tenten and up and down the table.

"Quick! Hide!" Sakura whispered, pulling Naruto down under the table. Sai and Kakashi peeked down at them after a minute.

"What are you two doing under there?" Kakashi asked. He looked back at his plate. "And where did my fork go?"


	13. The Sleepover Begins

After finally getting through dinner, Sakura helped Naruto clean off his face, which was covered in food, and his hands, which he had had to eat with as the result of having no fork. Kiba's hands matched Naruto's, for some mysterious reason, while Kakashi's were completely clean.

"Alright, is everyone done eating?" Hinata's father asked.

There were choruses of "Yes!" and nods from everyone.

"Okay then, I'll leave it all to Hinata and Neji," Hinata's father said. Hinata and Neji nodded, and once the table was cleaned up, all the adults evacuated either to their rooms or through the front door.

"Bye, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called. Kakashi sadly waved goodbye, and the front door closed behind him, leaving Team 10, Team 8, Team Kakashi, and Might Guy's Team by themselves.

"Alright then, let's get s-started! Hinata called out.

Suddenly the front doors burst open before she could finish, and the three Sand-nin burst in.

"Are we late?" Kankuro asked. He looked around and saw the clean table. "God dammit Temari, I told you not to take so long to get ready!" he growled at her, ignoring Sakura's outburst of "Them too!?".

Temari scoffed and crossed her arms, while Gaara stood their emotionlessly.

"Ooh, the Kazekage's spending a night at a slumber party!" Kiba laughed. "Real tough of you..."

Gaara blinked calmly, and Kiba raised his eyebrows. "Are...you gonna say anything?"

Gaara slowly shook his head no.

"Ok then..." Kiba gave him a strange look, before turning back to Hinata. "What were you saying?"

"Well, I was wondering if anyone knew any games we could play..." Hinata suggested.

"Guitar Hero!" Kiba called out.

"No way! You're the only one who's any good at that!" Ino shouted. "How about..." she grinned mischievously. "Spin the Bottle?"

"NO!" twelve voices rang out.

"Sure!" Kiba and Kankuro said.

"Geez, okay, okay," Ino gave in, ignoring Kiba and Kankuro. "Well...why not?"

"I don't wanna kiss anyone, let alone in front of everybody!" Chouji commented. Everyone else agreed with him.

"So...you guys would play if we didn't have to kiss in front of everybody?" Ino asked. A few people nodded, and everyone else shrugged.

"Then how about Seven Minutes in Heaven?" Ino suggested. At that, everyone seemed to shoot looks at each other.

"Well, we already know three people are good with it," Ino said, sounding more and more like she was hosting the party each second. "Let's take a vote! Everyone who's for the game, raise their hand!"

Ino, Kiba, and Kankuro raised their hands, and after a moment, Temari followed. Seeing this, Shikamaru raised his hand, and then Chouji did too, since his best friend had agreed. After a moment of thinking, Naruto shot a sideways look at Sakura and raised his hand.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Sakura thought to herself. "He knows Hinata will raise her hand, and that'll be the majority!"

Just like Sakura had predicted, Hinata raised her hand, and that made it eight to seven.

"Alright, that means we're playing!" Ino exclaimed, smiling a little too sweetly. Everyone else knew instantly not to disagree.

Hinata brought out two bags, a sheet of paper, and a pen. Ino ripped the paper into pieces and everyone wrote their name on one, and then Ino separated the boys' and girls' names into the two bags.

"What'll we use for a closet?" Temari asked Hinata and Neji.

"Here, we can p-play in a d-different room," Hinata said, leading them into the next room. It had a coffee table in the middle, which had four couches surrounding it. Everyone except Ino crammed onto a couch, while she stood in front of them all with the two bags. There was a door in the corner that Hinata explained led to a closet.

"Alright, I'll need a guy volunteer," Ino announced. Kiba and Kankuro raised their hands, and Ino gestured for Kiba to come and stand next to her. She gave him one of the bags. "I'll draw the girl names, and Kiba can draw the guy names," Ino told them. "Now...let's see who gets to go first!" Both she and Kiba reached into their bags.

"Temari..." Ino said. Kiba pulled out a name.

"Rock Lee."

"WHAT?" three voices shouted. Temari and Rock Lee glared at each other, disgusted, and Shikamaru looked back and forth between them with concern.

"I am NOT going into a closet with him!" Temari exclaimed.

"And I refuse to go in with her!" Rock Lee retaliated.

"You have to," Ino told them. "It's part of the game. You're not always going to get who you want."

Temari finally gave in and went in the closet, and Ino shoved Rock Lee in after her and closed the door behind him. "You have seven minutes!"

"Great, seven minutes of doing nothing," Temari's voice came from the other side, along with a bored grumble from Rock Lee.

The closet door didn't seem to be very thick, so everyone could hear what was going on inside. After a minute, they heard talking.

"So...Temari, I've seen you battle. Your fan is quite powerful, but you seem to lack the wonderful skills of Tai-jutsu," Rock Lee was saying.

"Are you kidding me?" Temari replied. "You can't even do Gen-jutsu or Nin-jutsu, and you're telling me I need to work on my Tai-jutsu?"

"Precisely."

There was a loud slamming sound from inside the closet, and everyone jumped.

"OW!" Rock Lee exclaimed. "I already said that fan was powerful, but a well-placed kick can be even more crippling."

"I swear, if I have to spend another minute in this closet with him, I'll be the only one coming out alive!" Temari shouted.

"Calm down, you only have three minutes left. It's past half over," Ino said. Temari huffed but didn't reply. Rock Lee fell silent too.

Two minutes passed by before Rock Lee's voice came from the closet. "So...do you wanna have a thumb wrestle?"

"NO, Rock Lee...I do NOT want to have a thumb wrestle with you."

Naruto snickered.

"Okay, time's up!" Ino called out after a few more seconds. Temari practically ran out, Rock Lee right behind her looking just as relieved.

"I thought she was gonna kill me," Sakura heard Rock Lee whisper to Tenten once he had sat back down.

"Ok, let's see who's next," Ino said. She and Kiba reached into their bags.

"Naruto..." Kiba said. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed and she frowned.

"...and Hinata."


	14. Ino's Realization

Sakura looked back and forth between Naruto, who's face showed no emotion, and Hinata, who could barely hide her excitement. Sakura clenched and unclenched her fists, avoiding sympathetic looks from Ino and trying to keep her anger hidden.

"Don't cry; don't kill anyone..." Sakura repeated in her head as Naruto shrugged his shoulders and walked into the closet, Hinata hurrying behind.

Kiba, despite being so eager to play, seemed to have a look that matched Sakura's.

Hinata shut the door behind them, and Ino immediately hurried to press her ear to the door, as if she hadn't been able to hear at all before, but the voices were once again coming through so everyone could hear.

"So, Hinata, we're buddies, right?" Naruto asked.

"W-ell, actually N-Naruto..." Hinata started. Sakura could almost see Naruto's eyebrows raising.

"Actually, what?"

"Actually...I k-kind of l-like you..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Sakura looked at Kiba; he still looked as worried as she did, if not worse.

"I m-mean, I like y-you as more than a f-friend..." Hinata admitted.

"Huh...uh...well..." Something cut off Naruto's stuttering, but Sakura couldn't tell what it was. But by the way Ino's eyes had widened, she could take a guess. She looked over at Kiba to see that he had reached the same conclusion, and that Shino was giving him the same sympathetic look Sakura had gotten from Ino. After a minute, Naruto's voice came back.

"Er...um...eh..." he stuttered.

"TIME'S UP!" Ino suddenly shouted, even though it was obvious that they still had at least half their time left. Apparently Naruto and Hinata didn't notice, and Naruto came out looking flushed, dazed, and confused. Hinata followed him, blushing.

There was an awkward silence as Naruto sat down next to Sakura, who glared at him, and Hinata next to Shino, before Ino said, "Okay, I guess we better pick the next couple..." She reached into the bag. "Tenten..."

"Kankuro!" Kiba said.

Tenten looked back and forth between Ino and Kankuro, who was standing up with a smile. "Can we talk about this?" she asked Ino nervously.

"Sorry, Tenten, but Temari had to go with Rock Lee..." Ino said. Tenten sighed.

"At least you guys will be able to hear anything we say..." she concluded. Kankuro walked up and hooked his arm with hers.

"Oh, there won't be any talking involved..." he said with a grin, practically dragging Tenten past a furious Neji and into the closet.

Like Kankuro had predicted, there wasn't any talking for a moment, but then a mumbled, "Get off me!" came through. Neji frowned angrily and turned his Byakugan on, looking into the closet. He jumped up and was at the door in a second, opening it up so forcefully it was almost ripped off its hinges. Although Neji was blocking their view, everyone could guess what was going on.

"Leave her alone!" Neji exclaimed, bending over and shoving Kankuro off of Tenten, and helping her up and out of the closet.

"Hey!" Kankuro exclaimed, trying to follow them out of the closet, but in a flash Rock Lee was in front of him, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"I don't think so," he growled angrily.

"Here, let me help you get cleaned up," Neji whispered to Tenten, who was hiding her face. From what everyone else could tell, it had face paint all over it. Tenten nodded shakily and Neji led them out of the room and down the hall.

"Ino, you should not have made them go into the closet together!" Rock Lee exclaimed, not taking his eyes off Kankuro. "We should end this game before it gets any worse!"

Ino looked around at everyone guiltily, finally saying, "I suppose you're right. I'm sorry for making you guys play."

"It's ok, Ino. The m-majority wanted to," Hinata said. Ino shrugged.

"I shouldn't have suggested it." She sighed. "What do you guys want to do instead, then?"

"Guitar hero..." Kiba suggested again, though not as enthusiastically as before.

Ino started to object, but Gaara interrupted. "I am actually quite good at that, contrary to what you said before."

Ino blushed. "Oh...I suppose I spoke too soon when I said nobody was good at it other than Kiba, huh?" Gaara and Kiba nodded.

"I'm not that bad, either," Shikamaru said suddenly.

Chouji nodded in agreement. "Me too."

"I can play it on expert..." Temari mumbled. Shikamaru looked at her in wonder.

"Really? I didn't know women played video games..." he commented.

Temari smiled. "I do. Some guys think it's weird, though."

"I don't. Women who don't play video games are such a drag," Shikamaru said, smiling back at her.

Sakura pulled Ino aside while everyone else talked. "Ino...I know you're trying to make this a fun party, but Neji and Hinata are the hosts. You should let them do their jobs, they might have some fun stuff for us to do," she said.

Ino sighed. "I know, you're right. All I've done is broken both yours and Kiba's hearts, and made Tenten upset."

"You noticed Kiba was upset, too? I thought I was the only one who noticed," Sakura said, ignoring the part about herself, as true as it was.

"Yeah, I've known he likes Hinata for a while," Ino replied.

"I figured that was what it was," Sakura replied. "Anyway, let's just have fun and do whatever Hinata and Neji have planned, okay?"

"Okay."

At that moment, Neji and Tenten returned, and Rock Lee turned away from Kankuro to rush over to them. "Are you okay, Tenten?" he asked, looking at her worriedly.

"Yeah...I'm fine now," Tenten reassured him, giving both him and Neji a smile.

"Hey, Neji, Tenten, you're back!" Naruto called out. "We decided to end the game, so what should we do now?"

Neji smiled. "Well, we could hear you guys talking from down the hall, so how about we play..."

"GUITAR HERO!" everyone chorused along with Neji, who led them two rooms over to a gaming room. Neji set the game up, gave everyone a number, and grabbed a pen and paper. He drew out a tournament chart for everyone to see. He taped it to the wall, and everyone crowded around to look at it.


	15. The Tournament

1-Naruto  
2-Temari  
3-Sai  
4-Hinata  
5-Shikamaru  
6-Chouji  
7-Tenten  
8-Kiba  
9-Gaara  
10-Kankuro  
11-Neji  
12-Sakura  
13-Rock Lee  
14-Shino  
15-Ino

ROUND 1

1 vs. 2

3 vs. 4

5 vs. 6

7 vs. 8

9 vs. 10

11 vs. 12

13 vs. 14

15 gets free advancement.

"Alright Temari, let's go!" Naruto exclaimed, stepping up in front of the TV and grabbing a Guitar. Temari smirked and grabbed another, looking up at the TV. She turned to Neji.

"This is Guitar Hero 3, right?" she asked. Neji nodded.

"Naruto, have you ever even played Guitar Hero before?" Sakura asked. Naruto's face turned red.

"Maybe..."

"Alright, here are the rules," Neji started. "One of you will pick the difficulty, and the other will pick the song. I'll flip a coin to see who gets to pick first, okay? The first to fail loses, or the one with the lower score at the end."

Naruto and Temari nodded. "Naruto, you call it," Temari offered. Neji flipped the coin.

"Heads!" Naruto called out. It landed on tails.

Temari smirked. "I'll pick the difficulty. Expert."

Naruto went pale, and turned to look at all the songs. "Which one is the easiest?" he asked. Temari pointed to the first four.

"Any one of those."

Naruto studied them. "How about...Slow Ride? It has slow in it, it can't be that bad..."

"On expert it can..." Shikamaru muttered so Naruto couldn't hear.

Naruto selected the difficulty and song, and watched as the notes started to pop up. As Temari hit every one of them, Naruto stared at the screen.

"What do I do with those?" he asked, turning away from the TV to look at Neji.

"You press the button when it comes up and strum the white button down there!" Neji said, pointing. "Hurry or you'll fail!"

"Oh..." Naruto turned back to the screen. "They're coming up too fast. I can't hit them!"

"That's the point of expert, idiot," Temari said, not taking her eyes off the TV. Naruto set his jaw and tried valiently to hit a few of the greens, but within seconds he had failed.

"Dang it! Does that mean I'm out?" he asked Neji, who nodded. Naruto frowned and went to sit down with everyone else as Hinata and Sai approached the TV.

"I have seen this once before, but that is it..." Sai said.

"I c-can probably play i-it on medium," Hinata admitted. "But I'm n-not very g-good."

Sai won the toss and chose easy, and Hinata chose to play Lay Down. At first it was evenly matched, but then Hinata started to pull away. At the end, she had the higher score, and was declared the winner.

Next were Shikamaru and Chouji. "Alright buddy, you ready to rock?" Chouji asked. Shikamaru nodded.

Chouji won the toss and picked the song, deciding to play Raining Blood.

"You're no fun," Shikamaru said with a frown. "I can't play that on hard, and on medium it's too easy..."

Chouji grinned at him.

"Alright, I pick hard, I think I can outlast you..." Shikamaru said. The song came on and they both stayed even until the hard part. Slowly both bars dropped to red, and then all of a sudden Shikamaru used Star Power.

"When did you get that?" Chouji cried, at the same time failing only a second before Shikamaru would have.

"HA!" Shikamaru said. "That's what you get for picking Raining Blood."

Chouij frowned and they both went to sit back down.

Tenten and Kiba played next, Kiba easily winning, and then Gaara beat Kankuro, and Neji won against Sakura. Next was Shino and Rock Lee.

"I've never played before..." Rock Lee and Shino said at the same time, so they played Stricken on Easy for a challenge. Near the end of the song, Shino finally failed with a sigh.

"Yes! It was my Tai-jutsu that helped me to learn quickly, since my fingers are naturally fast!" Rock Lee cried to Temari.

"Rock Lee, it was only on easy..." Sakura pointed out. Rock Lee ignored her.

Because there was nobody else to play, Ino was automatically sent to the next round.

"Okay, if I'm correct, these are what the matches will look like..." Neji said, writing on another piece of paper and showing it to them.

Temari vs. Hinata

Shikamaru vs. Kiba

Gaara vs. Neji

Rock Lee vs. Ino

Temari and Hinata played first, and Temari won, even though Hinata got to select the difficulty.

Shikamaru stepped up next, shooting looks over at Temari as he prepared to play Kiba, who was supposedly the best one there. Kiba won the toss, and picked expert, so Shikamaru picked the song he was best at: Hit Me with Your Best Shot.

It was a close game, but in the end Kiba had a higher score. Temari scoffed and shook her head in disappointment, and Shikamaru frowned and sat down with his arms crossed.

The next match was almost as close, with Gaara as the victor, and then Rock Lee played Ino. It was like a train wreck to watch since they were both so bad, but in the end Rock Lee's "Tai-jutsu" came through. Neji showed everyone a new piece of paper afterwards.

Temari vs. Kiba

Gaara vs. Rock Lee

Everyone knew Gaara was going to beat Rock Lee, but Temari's and Kiba's was the most interesting. They both ended up playing Before I Forget on Expert. It went back and forth between them, until it was even going into the last part, with neither of them showing a chance of failing. They both activated Star Power at the same time, and with only a few notes left, Kiba missed one.

"Dang it!" he cried out as Temari slowly pulled ahead, finishing out the song in first place.

"Awesome job, Temari!" Chouji called out, giving her a high-five. Shikamaru stood beside him, scowling at her.

She looked at him. "What's wrong? Mad a girl did better than you?" She smirked as Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.

"I'll beat you eventually..." he promised.

"It's a date," Temari said with a wink, leaving behind a shocked Shikamaru.

As predicted, Gaara beat Rock Lee easily, and he and Temari stepped up for the Championship Game.

"Alright, here's the twist...for the championship, you both have to play the hardest song on expert!" Neji said.

"What?" Temari said. "Even I can't pass Through the Fire and Flames!"

"Me neither..." Gaara agreed quietly.

"Well, we'll see who fails first, then," Neji replied.

The song began, and both bars quickly went to red. As the siblings got the hang of the part, they both slowly went back to yellow, but then the song changed.

"I can do this part..." Temari said with a grunt, and Gaara nodded next to her. They both strummed quickly, and their bars went to green, with Gaara slightly ahead.

"What? He's better than me?" Kiba said in awe.

The song changed again, and Gaara's dropped to yellow, while Temari's went to hover in between yellow and red. Finally she gave up, letting it go all the way down. She failed just as Gaara went down to red.

"Good job Gaara, you win..." Temari told him, rubbing her wrists.

"What's my reward?" Gaara asked Neji.

A bead of sweat dropped down the back of Neji's head. "Um...there is no reward, Gaara. It was just for fun..."

"Oh..." Gaara replied. He turned to Temari. "Should we ban him from our village?"

Temari shook her head and whispered, "No Gaara, you don't do that to people for reasons like this."

"Okay, just wondering..." Gaara whispered back. Neji sighed in relief.

Naruto let out a loud yawn from next to him, and said, "I'm tired! Can we go to bed now?" Hinata rushed to his side.

"Sure Naruto...we can s-sleep in _my _bed..." Hinata said. Naruto blushed. Sakura's jaw dropped and she moved next to Naruto.

"No he will not!" She glared at Hinata, who looked back at her angrily.

"I t-think that's for h-him to decide!" Hinata said.

"Okay, okay, break it up, we're all sleeping in sleeping bags in the next room!" Neji explained. Naruto sighed in relief, and Neji led everyone into the next room, which had nothing inside except for over twenty sleeping bags.

"We didn't know how many people would show up..." Neji explained. Everyone picked a sleeping bag and laid down inside, and Neji passed out pillows before lying down next to Tenten, who had Rock Lee on the other side of her. Naruto fell asleep with Sakura and Hinata on either side of him, wondering exactly what the heck was going on.


	16. Sakura vs Hinata

Sakura woke up the next morning with a huge headache. She sat up, holding her throbbing head between her hands.

"Ow...what's wrong with my head...it feels like my head is split in half..." Sakura thought to herself. She looked to her right and all thoughts of her headache disappeared. Naruto was asleep, his mouth open, with a small trail of drool running from it down to his pillow. Hinata was lying next to him, her eyes also closed with her head on his chest. Naruto's arm was draped across her stomach. Sakura stared at them, her mouth agape. Seeing them like that...something inside her snapped. She leaned over across Naruto, and slapped Hinata across the face as hard as she could. The force of it knocked Hinata off Naruto, and when she hit the floor her eyes slowly opened. The first things she registered were Sakura staring angrily at her, and the stinging feeling on her cheek. She put two and two together.

Hinata's eyes narrowed angrily to match Sakura's, and she stood up, clenching her fists. Her lip quivered furiously. "Y-you...you...you bitch!"

Sakura's jaw dropped and for a second she forgot her anger. Everyone jerked awake at Hinata's shout, turning sleepily to stare at them. Naruto sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking at them. "What happened?" he asked. "Did someone shout?"

Sakura gave him a look that told him to shut up, and then turned back to Hinata. "You're the bitch! I bet you fell asleep on him like that on purpose!" she accused.

"So what if I did?" Hinata replied, all signs of nervousness gone now that she was angry. "It's none of your business! I liked him long before you did! You're always making fun of him, and I never did anything like that! Just because I picked the 'wrong time' to say something doesn't mean you have a right to stand in my way!"

Sakura's hands clenched into fists to match Hinata's. "You think I like feeling like this? I don't even WANT to like him! I only do because of some stupid potion!"

Naruto looked back and forth between them solemnly. Everyone else except Sai and Rock Lee watched them with confused looks.

"Oh, please! Don't go making up some stupid story about how you were 'forced' to like him! Face it, Naruto's a good guy, and you've just now seen it!" Hinata shouted.

"It's true, Hinata," Naruto cut in. "She's telling the truth."

Hinata looked at him, surprised.

Sakura glared at Naruto. "Just stay out of this, Naruto. I don't need your help."

Naruto looked at her, confused, but closed his mouth.

Sakura turned back to Hinata. "I may only feel this way because of the potion, but my feelings are just as strong as yours, and ever since yesterday I had a feeling it would come to this..." Sakura's hands started to glow with the force of her chakra, and her eyes narrowed. "And that thought's been the only thing that's kept me sane since you kissed him. If you're not going to back off, I'll fight you for him!"

She charged at Hinata, who gasped and ducked, barely avoiding having her head taken off. Sakura swung at her again, and Hinata concentrated her chakra into her feet and jumped across the room before Sakura's fist could reach her.

"Byakugan!" Hinata cried, her eyes quickly changing.

"Sakura, stop!" Naruto shouted, getting up and grabbing Sakura's arm before she could react.

"Get off of me!" Sakura yelled as Hinata charged towards her with chakra glowing in her hand.

"No! Stop fighting!" Naruto cried, refusing to let go.

"Naruto, I'm warning you..." Sakura growled, watching Hinata come closer and closer.

"I don't care what you say, I'm not letting you go until you promise to stop!" Naruto replied, too focused on Sakura to see Hinata running towards them.

"I'm sorry, Naruto..." Sakura's fist connected with his face and he lost his grip on her arm, flying through the air and landing twenty feet away in a heap, too dazed to get up. Ino had the sense to run over and start to heal him with what little healing powers she had.

Everyone else gulped. Nobody, not even Gaara, was brave enough to interfere.

Sakura had just enough time to dodge Hinata after getting rid of Naruto, ducking below her hand, and swinging her own leg in an arc, which connected with Hinata's legs and knocked her to the ground. Hinata stuck her legs around one of Sakura's, pushing against it until Sakura fell to the ground in front of her. Sakura aimed at kick at Hinata's face, but she blocked it with her arms. The force knocked her back ten feet, and both girls jumped up as soon as Hinata came to a stop. They both ran at each other, Sakura blocking a punch from Hinata and hitting her right in the face, knocking her to the ground. A trickle of blood ran from Hinata's lip, but Sakura hadn't had enough time to put a lot of chakra into it, and almost instantly Hinata was back up and fighting again. Sakura blocked a kick, and realized too late that it had been a distraction, taking a hit from Hinata's hand right in the shoulder, which blocked off chakra from her left arm. She growled in frustration and gathered chakra in her right hand, aiming a punch at Hinata with her left. Hinata blocked the first punch, but fell for the same trick, receiving a more powerful one in the stomach. She bent over, coughing up blood, and Sakura backed away without letting her guard down.

Kiba's cry came from across the room. "Hinata! Are you okay?" He got up and ran towards her, putting a hand on her back, but she turned and knocked it away with lightning-fast reflexes, looking up at him.

"Get away, and stop interfering," she said angrily. Kiba looked at her with wide eyes, and backed up slowly. Hinata looked away from him, back to Sakura, and stood up straight, summoning chakra to her hands. Sakura, seeing this, gathered chakra in her right fist, and they both charged towards each other, pulling their fists back as they got closer. Sakura swung her right hand at the same time as Hinata, and they connected with each other. A wave reverberated from their hands, and both of them flew backwards, hitting opposite walls and falling to the floor. Hinata blinked and looked at her bleeding knuckles, but Sakura got up and before Hinata knew it Sakura's fist was glowing with chakra and held at her throat.

"I...win..." Sakura managed to say, letting out a bitter smile. She turned away, pulling back her hand, and made her way to Naruto, who had just sat up, leaving a shocked Hinata behind.

Sakura was halfway across the room, when she remembered her headache. She gripped her head tightly, hardly acknowledging the bruises on her arms. "It's...worse than before...what's...wrong with me...I can't move..." Her body swayed, and she fell to the floor.

"Sakura!" Naruto called out, getting up and nearly tripping over his own feet to get to her. "Sakura, are you okay?" He knelt by her, but her eyes were closed. Slowly the rest of the shinobi gathered around them, except for Kiba and Shino, who ran over to make sure Hinata was okay.

Naruto checked her pulse. "She's breathing..." he said. "Ino, do you think you could try to heal her a little bit?"

"Yeah," Ino replied, focusing her chakra and putting her hand on Sakura's head. Slowly, she stirred, opening her eyes and looking into Naruto's concerned face.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Naruto asked again.

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed, and she blinked up at him. "Who are you?"


	17. A Chance?

For the second time in four days, Sakura Haruno could be found in the hospital, strapped to a bed with only her arms free, with Naruto's picture in her face.

"Nope. I saw him first when I woke up, but that's it."

Tsunade nodded, replacing Naruto's picture with Rock Lee's.

"Oh! He was at the other place I came here from...but that's all I know about him..." Sakura said.

Hinata came next.

"Yeah, I've seen her. She got beat up pretty bad, I felt sorry for her. Two boys were standing next to her when I woke up, I wonder if they did it..." Sakura commented sadly.

"Alright, that's enough," Tsunade said with a sigh, putting the pictures away. "Let's try some excercises..."

At that moment, the door flew open and Naruto ran into the room. "I know you said not to come, " he said to Tsunade, "but I have to see how she's doing! I promise I won't talk or anything, just let me watch!" Naruto blurted out.

Tsunade looked at his hopeful face and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "All right Naruto, you can stay here for a little while, but no making noise!"

He nodded quickly and sat down on another bed next to Sakura. "Okay, as I was saying, we're going to try a few exercises," Tsunade explained. "First, I'm going to say a word, and then you are going to say the first word that pops into your head. Got it?"

Sakura nodded.

"Hey, how is this supposed to help?" Naruto asked loudly.

Tsunade rounded on him. "Didn't I tell you to shut up!" she yelled.

"Sorry..." he replied. "Next time I'll be sure to not care if my best friend's memory is completely erased, okay? Hopefully that'll make your life easier!" he shouted.

"_He's _my best friend?" Sakura asked with a twinge of annoyance. "What am I then, like, the village idiot?"

"No! You are Sakura Haruno, my best friend, and the prettiest, funniest, smartest girl I know!" Naruto said proudly. "Not to mention the best medic around!" Tsunade glared at him. "Ahem Other than Tsunade, of course!"

Sakura looked away, a tinge of pink finding its way onto her cheeks.

"Are you done, Naruto? Can I do my job now?" Tsunade asked.

"Yup, go ahead."

"Thank you." Tsunade turned to Sakura. "Now we can start the exercise. Your first word is: Konoha."

"Village," Sakura blurted out.

Tsunade raised her eyebrows. "Where'd you come up with that?"

"I don't know, it just popped into my head..."

"Alright, let's try another. Evil."

"Orochimaru...what the hell kinda word is that?" Sakura said. "I've never heard anything like that before!"

"That's okay, you're doing great. We'll do one more. Love."

"Naruto..." she said dreamily. Then she came back to Earth. "EEP!" She covered her mouth with one hand and pointed another at Naruto. "I don't love him! I don't even know him!"

Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head awkwardly, while Tsunade scribbled something on a clipboard and smiled up at them.

"Naruto...I have good news. Based on those responses...we can still save her," she told him. Naruto's head jerked in her direction. "What! How?" he asked.

"She still has her memories, but they're locked somewhere deep in her mind that only her subconscious can reach. That's how she gave those answers, but didn't know what she was talking about."

"But she said she loved me, and that certainly couldn't be in her memories except from when she took the potion, which wasn't real love anyway!"

"It must just be the after-effects from the potion," Tsunade suggested.

"Oh, that makes sense," Naruto replied.

"Anyway, all she needs is something to jerk her memories back to the front of her brain, so to speak," Tsunade told him.

Naruto grinned and rolled up his sleeve, closing his hand into a fist. "Finally, after all these years, I can get revenge!"

"Are you kidding? You can't punch me!" Sakura cried. Naruto frowned.

"You really don't remember, do you?" he said thoughtfully. After a moment, he smiled. "I was kidding. There's no way I would punch you. You would kill me!" he said.

Sakura smiled. "I sound pretty cool after all the things you've said..." she told him.

"Yeah, you're the coolest person in the world!" Naruto shouted. "That's why I'm gonna get your memories back!" He turned to Tsunade. "How am I gonna do that, exactly?" he asked.

"Well..." Tsunade thought for a moment. "a little jump start to her brain should do it. The best way to do that would be to resurface a strong memory she has. If you're going to help, it should be something involving the two of you..."

Sakura looked from Naruto to Tsunade, who were both turning slightly red.

"Er...have you two had any...um...intimate moments?" Tsunade asked, blushing even darker.

Sakura's eyes widened. "WHAT?" She looked at Naruto with her mouth slightly agape. She beckoned him over, and he leaned down. "Um...am I still a virgin?" she whispered.

Naruto looked at her with wide eyes. "YES! I think! We...haven't done anything like that!" he said both to her and Tsunade.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Tsunade yelled, her face returning to normal and her eyes clouding with anger. "I meant, have you two kissed? Other than the making out at the beginning, of course."

"M-making out?" Sakura stuttered.

"Hehe..." Naruto said. "You took this love potion and went kinda crazy, trying to kiss me every chance you got. We had to restrain you until Tsunade gave you something to make you less insane, and after that you still liked me, but you didn't try to attack me all the time like before. Obviously you liked me enough to pick a fight with Hinata, though."

"Oh...sorry about that..." Sakura said. "So that's why I'm like this?"

Naruto nodded. Suddenly Sakura's eyes widened. "Hinata! Is that the girl from the picture?" she asked Tsunade, who nodded. "I did that to her?"

"Yeah," Naruto told her. "Did I mention you're a good fighter?"

"But why did we fight?" Sakura asked. Naruto blushed.

"She kissed me."

Sakura went red too. "Oh..."

"Back to my question," Tsunade cut in. "I told Naruto he wasn't supposed to get involved with you while you were under the effects of the potion, but I'm sure he did it anyway, the girl of his dreams finally liking him back and all..." Tsunade said.

"Girl of his dreams?" Sakura asked with raised eyebrows.

"Um...yeah...that's another thing. I really like you...a lot..." Naruto muttered.

"Even now?" Sakura asked with a blush.

"Yeah..." Naruto said, looking into her eyes. Sakura looked away nervously.

"So, Naruto, have you two kissed, then?" Tsunade asked again, ignoring the exchange.

"Er...yeah...there was one night, where-"

"You don't have to tell me," Tsunade said. "Just go do it again."

"A-again? We have to kiss?" Sakura asked as Tsunade finally released the straps on her legs. Naruto moved quickly to the door, blocking it, but Sakura sat there and looked at him. "What are you doing?"

"Oh..." He moved out of the way. "Deja-vu."

"And yes, you have to kiss. A small price to pay for your memories," Tsunade replied.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed. "A few days ago I was the one running away from her!"

"True," Tsunade agreed as Sakura stood up and walked over to Naruto, who ushered her out the door, falling into step behind her. "And Naruto!" Tsunade called after him. Naruto peeked his head back in the door.

"What?"

Tsunade smiled. "Thank you for not listening to me."

Naruto grinned and his head disappeared.

Tsunade shook her head and returned to her work. "Enjoy your kiss, Naruto..."


	18. A Flash of Memory

Naruto led Sakura onto the main road of the village, explaining people and things as they passed by them. Finally they reached Ichiraku Ramen, and Naruto pulled Sakura inside to get something to eat.

"Ah, Naruto, you finally got that date?" Teuchi, the owner, asked. Naruto shook his head sadly, and Teuchi smiled at Sakura. "Still playing hard to get, I see."

Sakura looked at him. "Hard to get? Who's playing hard to get?"

Teuchi looked at Naruto. "What's wrong with her? She should have yelled at me."

Naruto frowned. "She lost her memory."

"Oh...nobody ever tells me these things..."

Ayame brought their food and they ate silently.

As Naruto finished his last noodle with a burp, Sakura said, "I like this stuff."

Naruto looked at her. "Really? You've always said you didn't really like it."

"Hmm...maybe I was lying, then."

"Yeah...you've always said you hated me, too."

Sakura smiled. "Well, I don't know if that's true or not yet, but if we're going to kiss, I hope it's the latter." Sakura looked at him thoughtfully. "This is gonna sound weird...but are you a good kisser?"

Naruto blushed. "How should I know...I've never kissed myself!"

"Well then...what about me?"

Naruto's eyes clouded over and he put his elbow on the bar, resting his chin on his hand. "The best."

Sakura's cheeks went red. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Naruto went back to normal and sat up, looking at her. "What it sounds like. Even when you were forcing me to the ground so you could make out with me, all the pain disappeared as soon as we-"

"Okay, I get it!" Sakura cut him off. "Sorry I brought it up."

Naruto sighed like he wasn't paying attention.

"He's probably imagining us kissing..." Sakura thought with a grimace. "Ew." She grabbed his arm and yanked him off his seat, getting off of hers as well. "Naruto, I don't have time for this. I want my memory back now, and if kissing is what we gotta do, then let's get it over with!"

Naruto nodded, paying for them and allowing Sakura to drag him down the street. "Hey, where are we going?" he asked after a minute. Sakura stopped.

"I have no idea. Where was the date?"

"Whoa, hold on a second. First off, it was at night, so we can't do it right now. Second, I gotta get everything set up before we can have it!"

"Well, when does it get dark around here?"

Naruto looked around until he spotted a clock. "About one hour from now."

"Well then, let's hurry!" Sakura said, dragging him in a random direction.

"Whoa, whoa, stop, Sakura," Naruto told her. "I'll take you to my house, that way I can change."

"What about me? I'm just wearing a regular outfit!" Sakura complained.

"Yeah...which is exactly what you wore to the date," Naruto told her.

"What? I wore _this _to a date?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. But that's my fault. I told you to wear something comfortable...and you listened. That's all."

Sakura punched him angrily. "You baka! Never tell a girl to wear something comfortable if you're going to wear something fancy! I was right from the beginning, you _are _an idiot!"

Naruto sighed. "This is pretty much what the real you is like..." he told her.

Sakura tapped her chin. "If this is what I'm like all the time...the real me is a bitch..." she finally said.

Naruto scoffed, immediately going into Sakura Defense Mode. "Don't say that! I screw up all the time, I deserve it! It's not your fault!" he said.

"Oh, quit blaming yourself. Maybe it's better off if I don't keep my memories. I can change my personality and everything...and stop punching you all the time," Sakura said.

"No, don't say that! I want the old Sakura back! We're going on that date whether you like it or not," Naruto said.

Sakura sighed. "If I'm such a jerk to you, why do you like me?" she asked. "And how did I end up being so mean to you?"

Naruto bowed his head in thought, starting the walk to his house. After a moment, Sakura ran to catch up with him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto-"

"It all started with Uchiha Sasuke..." Naruto said sadly.

"Uchiha...Sasuke?" Sakura repeated. "Who is he?"

"The third member of Team 7," Naruto told her.

"Team 7? What's that?"

"Our ninja team. It included me, you, Sasuke, and our sensei, Kakashi. We went on missions together, stuff like that. I remember the day we all got put on the same team. I was happy to be with you, you were happy to be with Sasuke, and Sasuke...was just Sasuke. He didn't really like to show emotions. Anyway, we basically just went on missions, narrowly avoided death, normal twelve-year-old stuff..." Naruto grinned at her.

She smiled. "What happened after that?"

Naruto frowned and looked back down at the ground again. "Sasuke...ran away from the village. He became a rogue ninja, and seeked power from Orochimaru. He basically joined the bad guys."

"Orochimaru...that's the name I said back in Tsunade's office. So that's who he is...but why did Sasuke join him?"

"He...wants revenge. On his brother, Uchiha Itachi. Itachi wiped out his entire clan in one night, and Sasuke was the only one who survived. But I think the revenge consumed him, and now he doesn't care about anything or anyone else. He even told me that he would give his body to Orochimaru if it meant killing Itachi, and refuses to come back to the village with us. Also...you liked him, as you can probably tell from what I said earlier. That itself made Sasuke and I rivals, and then when you add in the fact that we each strived to be better than the other...it was always a competition with us. Sasuke was like a brother to me, and...he once said that I was his best friend."

Sakura stared at him. "I'm sorry he left. I'm sure that really hit you hard. If I liked him, then how did I take it?"

Naruto scratched his head. "You were pretty upset. You even tried to stop him before he left, but couldn't. I'm not sure about the details though."

"Well, at any rate, all of this is helping my memory. I can almost see Sasuke's face, I think. Dark hair?"

Naruto nodded. "That's good. Hopefully Tsunade's idea will work, and then we can get the old Sakura back."

"What if it doesn't? What if there's no way to get it back?"

Naruto looked at her. "Then I'll spend days, if I have to, telling you everything I know about your life."

Sakura looked at him silently, and he looked away from her and said, "We're here."

Sakura looked up to see Naruto's house in front of them. He led her inside and she sat down on a couch. "Wait here. I just gotta make a few phone calls, pack a picnic, and change. Then we can go."

Sakura nodded and Naruto left the room. She looked around, her eyes finally settling on a picture on the mantle by the fireplace. She picked it up, surveying the four people in the picture. She was in the very center, noticably younger, and two boys were on either side of her. The one on her left she recognized as Naruto, and the other she realized was Sasuke. The man that must have been Kakashi stood above her, smiling, with a hand on each of the frowning boys' heads. Something flashed through Sakura's head.

_"C'mon, guys, you're making the camera man very angry!"_

"Ow!" Sakura exclaimed, collapsing on the floor. Naruto heard the noise and ran into the room, already wearing his tux.

"Sakura, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked, running over to help her up.

"I remember that day!" Sakura exclaimed suddenly. "When we took that picture! You and Sasuke were fighting, and me and Kakashi-sensei were all ready to take it, and Kakashi forced you two to calm down. That's why you both look so mad..." Sakura told him.

Naruto smiled brightly. "You do remember! This is great, this date's gonna work, I can tell!"

Sakura smiled back at him. "Should we go tell Tsunade?"

"Hmm..." Naruto thought. "I think it can wait until our date's over. After that we can go talk to her, once we find out if it works or not, okay?"

"Okay, hurry up and get ready so we can go, then!" Sakura cried.

Naruto jumped and hurried out of the room, coming back a few minutes later with a basket in his hand. "Everything's set up, we can go!"

"Good, let's get my memory back," Sakura told him, linking her arm with his. And with that, they set off on their second date.


	19. Date Number 2

"Alright...our date was right...about...here!" Naruto said, setting a blanket on the ground and plopping down on it. Sakura sat down next to him.

"What are we eating?" Sakura asked. Naruto reached into the basket, and pulled out...

"Ramen, the same thing we had last time!" Naruto cried.

"Yum," Sakura agreed.

Naruto handed her a cup and they both started to eat.

"So what did we do last time while we were eating?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm..." Naruto said. "I think we just sat here and ate. I don't remember either of us saying much until afterwards..."

"Fine with me," Sakura replied, picking up a few noodles with her chopsticks and eating them silently. Naruto followed suit. Finally, they finished, and Sakura asked, "What next?"

"This is the best part!" Naruto exclaimed, getting excited.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "You perv!" she raised a fist.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Naruto cried. He shook his head and blinked. "Wow, that was major deja-vu..."

"Oh, sorry." Sakura lowered her fist. "What did you mean, then?"

"Look up!" Naruto said, pointing at the sky. Sakura looked up, and Naruto gave the same whistle he had on their last date. Once again, fireworks rose into the sky, bursting right above them.

"Whoa, it's beautiful!" Sakura exclaimed. "How'd you get that set up in an hour?"

"Eh..." Naruto said, tired of explaining. "If this works, you'll know soon enough..."

"Ok. So what happens next?"

Naruto blushed. "Uh...this is the part where...er...ya know..." He grinned nervously. Sakura's face reddened to match his.

"Oh. Ok...well...let's get this over with, then..." She leaned towards him slightly.

"Uh...yeah...might as well..." Naruto replied. He found himself leaning forward as well.

Sakura and Naruto stared at each other, faces an inch apart.

"This is awkward," Sakura whispered shakily, her breath tickling Naruto's face.

"Yeah..." Naruto replied huskily. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

Naruto tried to concentrate on what he had done last time, but it was pretty hard to think while kissing Sakura, so he settled for setting one hand against her cheek and the other on her waist. He was forced to change this when she pushed him over and they both went tumbling to the ground. Naruto landed on his back with Sakura on top of him.

"Sakura is on top of me, kissing me...without the potion..." Naruto thought, his heart soaring. Just as he completed this thought, Sakura pulled away and looked at him. They stared at each other silently. Naruto tried to read Sakura's expression.

"It didn't work..." she said sadly. Naruto's silly grin changed quickly to a frown.

"Maybe it's because we didn't do it right..." he said.

"What do you mean? We went on a date in the exact same place as last time, and we kissed. What more is there?"

"Well..." Naruto blushed. "You weren't lying on top of me last time..."

Sakura blushed too. "I...never mind. Show me how we did it, then."

"Okay. You sit like this..." Naruto moved her around until she was sitting the right way, and then sat down himself, checking to make sure he was positioned correctly. "We have to make this as similar as possible, so before we get started, when we kiss, I have to put one hand on your waist, and prop us up with the other."

"Where do my hands go?"

Naruto went red. "Er...you have to run them through my hair..."

Sakura blushed, but nodded.

They leaned towards each other, but Naruto suddenly stopped, sitting up.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"You have to tilt your head a little, like this." He demonstrated.

"I was."

"Yeah, but the wrong way. Tilt it in the opposite direction."

"Naruto, how do you remember all this?"

Naruto avoided her eyes. "I considered that my first real kiss with you, that's why I remember it."

"Heh...guess you really care about me, huh? Well, the me who had her memory, anyway..." Sakura said nervously.

Naruto fixed himself into the right position again. "We're gonna get you back to normal, Sakura," he said seriously. Sakura gulped, but nodded.

"Alright, remember what to do?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," Sakura replied. "After last time, I'm a little nervous, but I'm ready."

"Then let's try again."

Naruto leaned in and kissed her, moving his hand to her waist. He felt Sakura's hands move to his hair, running them through it shakily. Naruto decided to try and make her feel better, reaching a hand into his own hair to grab one of hers. Unfortunately, it was the hand that was propping them up.

Naruto and Sakura tumbled the short distance to the ground for the second time, only this time it was much more unexpected, and they broke their kiss mid-fall, banging heads when they hit the grass. Sakura sat up and glared at him, a trail of blood running down her face from her forehead.

"Naruto, you baka! What am I supposed to say to Ino when she asked me where I got this? I can't tell her I kissed you, she thinks the potion wore off and I lost my memories!"

Naruto gaped at her. Sakura looked at him. "Wha..." Her eyes widened and she shouted, "I remember!"

Naruto cried out in joy, hopping up and pulling her up next to him. "It worked! It worked!" Naruto grabbed Sakura's hands and they jumped up and down happily. Sakura grinned at him after they stopped.

"Thank you so much, Naruto!" she exclaimed, grabbing his face with her hands and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"I got a real kiss...from the real Sakura...who was completely normal..." Naruto thought in a daze. He promptly fainted.

Sakura, not noticing this, ran out into the street happily. She spread her arms out and called, "Hello, Konoha! Sakura Haruno is back!"

"Shut up, we're trying to sleep here!" someone called out from one of the houses, and something flew out one of the windows towards her.

Sakura frowned, dodging the object. She looked back in Naruto's direction and saw him sprawled on the grass. She ran over to him. "Naruto, are you okay?" she asked, giving him a light tap on the cheek. He jerked awake, and Sakura jumped back in surprise.

"Sakura, I just had the most wonderful dream. After you got your memories back, you kissed me! And it was the real you! You weren't under the influence of the potion, or trying to get your memories back, or anything like that!" Naruto smiled happily.

"Naruto...that wasn't a dream."

Naruto's eyes widened, and he hopped up and looked at her. "YOU KISSED ME?!"

"Well...yeah."

"Why?"

Sakura blushed. "Well...it was a thank-you gift, you know? I was really happy, and you helped me get my memories back, so I thought you deserved it."

Naruto smiled. "Okay, I'll take it. Even if you only like me as a friend, you'll always be my best buddy, right Sakura?"

Sakura laughed nervously, but Naruto didn't pick it up. "Er...right, Naruto. Buddies."

Naruto grinned and slung his arm around her, looking at her when she didn't protest. "Why aren't you trying to kill me?"

"Er...tonight's a special night, okay?" Sakura told him. "Walk me home?"

"Sure! Hopefully your parents won't kill us."

Sakura forced a laugh, fighting an internal battle with herself as they walked to her house. If the potion had worn off, then why did she still like Naruto?


	20. Kiba's Question

They walked in silence, each of them distracted by their own thoughts, until Naruto stopped and said, "Here we are."

Sakura looked up. He was right; they were at her house. She turned to face him. "Well...bye I guess..."

"Bye," Naruto said softly, staring back at her. Sakura saw his face come a little closer to hers, and looked at him nervously.

"Is he going to..." she thought as Naruto's eyes closed and his head tilted. "Shit! He's is!"

A moment before Naruto's lips would have reached hers, Sakura stuttered, "W-well, see ya Naruto!" She practically ran to her front door without a look back, opening it and then slamming it shut, pressing her back against it once she was inside. Sakura stood there for a moment, breathing heavily. "Damn...I chickened out," she thought. Just as she was about to take a step towards her room, the nearest light flickered on to reveal her parents standing a few feet away, bath robes still on and arms crossed.

"It's time we had a talk with you, Sakura," her mother said.

Meanwhile, Naruto stood outside on the road in front of her house, staring at the front door. "Shit, I probably scared the crap out of her!" he thought. "She just got her memory back for starters, and secondly, she doesn't even like me! What was I thinking?" He turned away from the house, spotting a pebble. He swung his foot with the intention of kicking it, but his aim was off. Instead, his foot skimmed over the pebble, and he slipped, crashing to the ground on his back. Naruto sighed, not bothering to move, settling for staring up at the sky. The clouds grew darker as he watched, and a flash of lightning struck the ground in the distance. Soon afterwards, a loud rumble sounded, and rain came pouring down.

"Just what I need..." Naruto thought, finally forcing himself to move from the middle of the road. He slunk towards his own house, looking down at the ground, and didn't notice the shadow approaching him. Suddenly, Naruto was hit from the side, falling to the ground with something on top of him. Immediately Naruto's instincts kicked in, and he hit the thing with his fist. It rolled off of him and Naruto got a good look at it. "Kiba?"

Kiba stood up quickly, lowering his hood. "Naruto? What are you doing out this late?"

Rain splashed down on both of them as they stared at each other. "I could ask you the same thing," Naruto said, standing up. A bark came from down the street, and Kiba turned away as Akamaru approached, holding a raccoon in his mouth.

"We stay out late, so Akamaru can hunt. I thought you were a bear in the middle of the village!" Kiba explained.

"So you tackled me?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kiba scratched his head. "Yeah, probably not the best approach in the world. Well, I'm glad you're you, instead of a bear. I need to talk to you."

Naruto cocked his head. "About what?"

Kiba blush was barely visible through the rain. "Hinata."

Naruto frowned. "What about her?"

"Well...I want to talk about how she kissed you."

Naruto blushed. "Look...that was an accident, I don't..."

"I just want to know if you like her back," Kiba said.

"Oh...well...sorry, but, not really. I like Sakura."

Kiba smiled. "Okay."

"Wait, are you gonna tell her that?" Naruto asked nervously.

"No, she'll probably find out on her own. I just wanted to know because...uh, never mind..."

Naruto looked at him suspiciously, a small smile on his lips. "Why?"

Kiba sighed. "I, uh...might think Hinata's...a special person. That's all I'm saying." He looked away from Naruto nervously.

"You like her, don't you?" Naruto asked with a grin.

Kiba crossed his arms defiantly, but didn't reply.

"It's ok, Kiba. You should go for it. I won't stop you." Naruto said.

Kiba finally looked at him. "Thanks, I guess. I don't think she'll say yes, though. She likes _you _too much."

Naruto frowned. "Well, maybe if she finds out I'm not interested, she'll change her mind..."

Kiba scoffed. "I don't want to be the backup guy, you idiot! I want her to like me for me!"

Naruto scratched his head. "Well...try doing something nice for her. Girls are strange, and I don't really understand them, but maybe that'll help. Anyway, I have to go, the rain's getting worse."

They both looked up. Naruto was right, the rain was pouring down so heavily, it was almost painful to get hit.

"Alright...I'll try..." Kiba replied.

Naruto waved goodbye, shouting, "Good luck!". Kiba gave him a thumbs up and left with Akamaru.

Something about his conversation with Kiba made Naruto feel like a weight had been lifted off his back. Shielding his head with his hands, he ran home the rest of the way.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sakura sat in the same seat Naruto had been sitting at only a few days earlier, with her parents sitting in seats next to her.

"Alright, start talking," her dad said.

Sakura sighed. "Well, everything's over now...so I guess I can tell you...but try not to freak out, okay?"

With that, she proceeded to tell them the whole story.


	21. Mental Conversations

As Naruto was arriving home, minutes away, Sakura finished her story with, "And now I've got my memory back, and here I am at home, being interrogated like some kind of criminal." Her face had sarcasm written all over it.

"Wow, that's a lot to go through in three days..." her mother said.

"Four," Sakura corrected.

"Well, I think what you need right now is some rest. We'll talk about this in the morning," her dad said. Sakura nodded and headed to her room. As she changed into her pajamas, Sakura vaguely remembered that both she and Naruto had slept in their formal outfits the night before.

"Whoops. Guess we forgot to borrow clothes..." she thought. "I wonder what I'm going to say to Hinata tomorrow...oh who am I kidding, even with the potion gone, I'm still mad at her for kissing Naruto..." She sighed. "And what am I going to say to Naruto? He tried to kiss me, and I ran away! Surely he'll bring it up, probably to apologize, but what should I say when he does? I certainly can't tell him I like him?"

"Why not?" Inner Sakura spoke up. "He likes you, so what's the problem?"

Sakura sighed. "I don't know, the whole thing with Hinata...and the potion...the last thing I need is a relationship. But that doesn't really stop me from wanting one...I don't know, I guess I just don't know how to tell him...and what will everyone else think?"

"Who gives a rat's ass what everyone else will think!" Inner Sakura shouted. "It only matters what Naruto thinks, and if you end up dating him then everyone will be happy for you, I'm sure. They're you're friends after all. And as for telling him...just walk up and plant one on him, I'm sure he'll get the picture!"

Sakura frowned to herself. "Some friend Hinata is, she didn't even invite me to her stinkin' party!" she thought, choosing to ignore the last part.

"She's just jealous, she'll get over it once she realizes Naruto loves you."

"Pssh..." Sakura walked over and laid down in her bed, pulling the covers over herself. "He doesn't love me, it's just a crush! We're only 15!"

"Maybe, maybe not..."

"Ok, I'm done with you. You really need to go away, talking to you makes me feel like a psychopath. I'm going to bed."

"Yeah, well existing inside a 15-year-old girl's mind and having to listen to all her problems makes me wish I was a psychopath."

"Shut up."

Meanwhile, Naruto was also having trouble falling asleep. He didn't have an Inner Naruto, but he did have the Kyubbi.

"What am I going to do about Sakura?" he asked himself. To his surprise, he got a response.

"If this girl's causing so many problems, why don't you just kill her?"

Naruto frowned. He knew that voice. "Shut up, I don't need your input."

"Ooh, touchy, are we? This must be about the pink-haired girl. Sakura's her name, eh? She's a good kisser."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "Wait a minute, how'd you know that?!"

"I'm inside of you. I know everything about you. Even your thoughts."

"That's creepy. Can we change the subject?"

"Sure. Let's get back to that Sakura chick. Why don't you wanna kill her?"

"Are you crazy? She's my friend!"

"Looking back through your experiences, I'm guessing she's a little more than that..."

"I wish."

"Ooh, this memory's very interesting. Happened just a few minutes ago..."

"Do you have like a movie of my life in there somewhere?"

"Something like that. He leans in...closer...oh, REJECTED!" the Kyubbi teased.

"Hey! That's personal!" Naruto mentally exclaimed.

"Haha, this is fun. Let's do another. Oh, this looks good. You and...gasp!...another girl in a closet! Oh wow, pretty awkward, bet your little girlfriend didn't like that. Oh, looks like she's making a move, and...wow, you're still stuttering away...almost there...BAM, score one for the big guy, haha!"

"Stop it! Get out of my memories!" Naruto shouted aloud, clawing at the top of his head.

"Geez, if it bothers you that much, I'll stop. So, you gonna tell Sakura you like her...or is this other one the one you're after?"

"Hinata? No way, she's nice, but I think she likes me a little too much. I lo, er, like Sakura."

"What was that? Did you almost say love? Kid, you disgust me. You should have just killed them both."

"Just shut up and let me sleep, I get enough of you in battle," Naruto thought.

"Suit yourself, I'm in a singing kinda mood," the Kyuubi responded.

"No...I hate when you get like this..." Naruto moaned. After listening to "Mary Had a Little Lamb" what must have been over 20 times, Naruto finally fell asleep.


	22. Avoiding Sakura

Sakura woke up the next morning, remembering everything that had occurred the night before. "I don't really feel like talking to my parents this morning..." she thought, glancing over at her window. "I could just..." She hurriedly got dressed, hearing footsteps in the kitchen. Grabbing her weapon back and her purse, Sakura silently opened the window and jumped out, landing on the grass just a foot below. Her eyes widened as she landed.

"Oh no! We forgot to tell Tsunade I got my memories back!" Sakura remembered. She took off down the street, hair flying behind her. Within minutes Tsunade's office was visible, and Sakura banged on the door as quickly and loudly as she could. She heard footsteps inside, and as the door opened her eyes widened.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked in surprise when she saw Naruto's face on the other side of the door. Naruto looked just as shocked as she did.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto's cheeks went pink and he turned away, leaving the door.

"Come on in Sakura, Naruto was just telling me about you!" Tsunade's voice came from inside. Sakura stepped in, purposely avoiding Naruto's eyes. He seemed to be doing the same thing. Tsunade rose from her desk, walking towards Sakura and stopping in front of her. "It seems your memory has come back."

Sakura nodded. "Yes. Last night...um, it worked," Sakura said, avoiding the details. Tsunade nodded. Master and apprentice stared at each other, before something in Tsunade's eyes changed, and she dashed forward and wrapped her arms around Sakura, who cried out in surprise.

"Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked, feeling something wet on her shoulder. Looking up, she realized Tsunade was crying. Quickly composing herself, Tsunade wiped her tears away and stepped back. Naruto watched the exchange in confusion.

"I'm...glad you're okay, that's all, Sakura. Go ahead, go have fun. You're next mission's in two days, okay?" Tsunade sniffed.

Sakura looked at her with a small smile, and nodded. "Yes Ma'am." She turned to leave, noticing that Naruto had disappeared. "Where did he go?" she thought, waving at a sniveling Tsunade and exiting her office. "He's probably avoiding me...I wasn't expecting that. Well, hopefully I'll run into Ino or Sai so I have someone to hang out with..."

Just as she stepped out onto the road and completed this thought, she saw Shino walking by himself. "Hmm...maybe Shino needs someone to talk to, too..." she thought, running to catch up with him. "Hey Shino!"

Shino stopped in his tracks as she reached him. "Er...I'm not at liberty to talk to you at the moment..." he said, choosing his words carefully.

"What? Why not?" Sakura asked.

"Because of your fight with Hinata. All the fingers on her right hand are broken. I can't just talk to you like nothing happened, you know. Kiba might see it differently, I'm not sure, but I have to be loyal to my teammate. I am sorry. Oh, and by the way, congratulations on getting your memory back. I recall you losing it at the party." He walked away without looking at her, and Sakura stood there in shock.

"Shino's mad at me?" Sakura thought. "I wonder if Kiba is, too..."

"Sakura?" she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Ino!" Sakura exclaimed, spinning around to see the girl in question walking with Sai next to her. "Hey, I was just looking for you guys! Naruto's avoiding me."

"Really? I haven't seen him today, so I wouldn't know..." Ino said. Sai nodded next to her. Suddenly two pairs of eyes widened.

"Sakura-san, you got you're memory back!" Sai exclaimed in the happiest voice he could manage, and Ino screamed and wrapped her arms around Sakura. They were making quite a scene, Sakura noticed, so she pulled them off to the side. After Ino released her, Sakura looked around, spotting where they were.

"Hey, we're at Ichiraku Ramen! I wonder if Naruto's here?" Sakura said aloud. The three of them ducked under the cover in front and sat at the bar.

"It's empty," Ino observed.

"Hey, Teuchi, have you seen Naruto?" Sakura asked the owner.

"No, why?" he replied.

"We're just looking for him." she told him. He nodded.

"Well, if you come back later, I'll let you know if I see him," he suggested. Sakura nodded, but suddenly her stomach grumbled.

"Actually, I'm kind of hungry. Could I have a miso-ramen?" she asked. Her nodded and went to fetch her order. Ino and Sai gaped at her.

"Since when do you like ramen?" Sai asked.

"I always have. I just acted like I didn't!" Sakura replied, receiving her food and eating quickly. "And since when do you guys hang out together?"

"Ah...Ino is my...what do you guys call it? Oh, girlfriend, I'm pretty sure that's it," Sai stated.

Sakura looked from a blushing Ino to a calm Sai. "Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow...when on Earth did this happen?"

"Er...after you lost your memory. While Naruto was taking you to Tsunade, Sai complimented me on healing you and Naruto...and it just sort of took off from there," Ino explained.

"Um, if I recall, you attacked me and then asked me out on a date, to which I was too stunned to say no to. I had never kissed a girl before."

Sakura continued to look back and forth between them. "Okay, this is SERIOUSLY creeping me out. You have GOT to be kidding me!"

"Nope," Ino said. Sai nodded in agreement.

Sakura stared at them. "As soon as I get another lead on Naruto, I'm leaving you two." She paid and they left, looking around.

"Where could Naruto be?" Ino thought aloud. "I know! What about Tsunade's office?"

"Already checked. He was there earlier, and that's where he ditched me from."

"Oh."

"Hey!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed. "Konohamaru!"

"What about Konohamaru?" Ino asked.

"No, Konohamaru! He's right there!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing across the street. "See ya!" She ran off as quickly as she could, leaving a confused Sai and Ino alone.

"Konohamaru!" Sakura shouted, reaching him. He spun around, cowering in fear.

"Sakura, get away from me! You almost killed me!" he shouted. Sakura scratched her head.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. What happened?"

Konohamaru glared at her. "I had to be rushed to Tsunade at the hospital, and they used friggin' shock paddles on me to bring me back to life!"

"Uh, sorry, I was kinda going through a rough time." She smiled innocently.

Konohamaru shook with anger. "Going through a rough time? GOING THROUGH A ROUGH TIME!"

By now everyone was staring. "WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE WORSE THAN WHAT YOU DID TO ME! HUH?" Konohamaru screamed.

Sakura was unfazed. "Well...for starters, I was given a love potion by Sasuke which made me fall in love with Naruto and make out with him six times, given a duller for that which made me like him, but not attack him, then it started to wear off and I got really emotional and almost lost my mind, went to a party that everyone was invited to by Hinata except me, had to listen to Hinata kiss Naruto while I still liked him, broke her fingers for it, lost my memory when the potion finally wore off, had to kiss Naruto TWICE to bring my memory back, been ditched by Naruto and ignored by Shino, AND found out Ino and Sai were dating! What was your problem again?" she asked sweetly.

Konohamaru glared at her. "What do you want?"

"Have you seen Naruto today?" Sakura asked bluntly.

"He's right over there, hiding. He told me not to tell anyone." Konohamaru said dully, pointing to a box ten feet behind him.

"Dammit, Konohamaru!" a voice came from inside the box. Naruto jumped out and took off running. Sakura growled and sped off after him, chasing him all the way down the street and around the corner, into the same alleyway he had chased her into a few days before. Naruto gathered chakra into his feet as Sakura backed him into the alley, but she noticed and tackled him to the ground before he could leap into the air, pinning him down.

Naruto stared up at her, and Sakura looked into his eyes angrily. "Why the hell have you been avoiding me?"


	23. The End

Naruto knew he was dead. "Er...could we talk about this before you hurt me?"

To his surprise, Sakura's glare disappeared, and she said sweetly, "That's exactly what we're gonna do. We're gonna talk about this."

Not sure if he liked her tone of voice, Naruto watched Sakura as she got up off of him and held out her hand. He took it uncertainly, and she pulled him up off the ground. "Where are we gonna talk?" Naruto asked.

"Right here. I'm not giving you another chance to run off," Sakura said, pulling him over to two small trash cans at the back of the alleyway. She overturned them both and sat on the top of one, looking at him and gesturing towards the other.

Naruto frowned and sat down. "Not exactly the most romantic of places..." he thought sourly.

"Now, you answer my question. Why are you avoiding me?" Sakura looked at him.

"Well, to tell you the truth...that ramen we had yesterday must have been stale, because your breath has just stank! Damn, girl! I mean, seriously, I can't take it, it's like every time you talk it smells worse than these trash cans!" Naruto complained.

Sakura stared at him. "You're asking for a punch in the face, Naruto."

Naruto frowned and glared at her. "Fine. I figured things would be awkward between us, after what happened at your house yesterday."

"Why? What happened at my house yesterday that was awkward?" Sakura played dumb.

Naruto's frown deepened. "Gonna torture me, eh? You know what I'm talking about Sakura. I tried to kiss you, and you ran inside like you'd seen a ghost! It was pretty stupid of me, now that I think about it. There's no way you'll like me now that you're back to normal!"

Sakura cocked her head. "How do you know?"

"What?" Naruto looked at her, confused. "It's common sense. I mean..." Kakashi's face flashed through Naruto's brain and his eyes widened.

_"I have a feeling that they gave her a love potion of some kind, and that's why she kissed you, Naruto," Kakashi told him. Naruto slouched._

_"Aw man! So she doesn't really like me?"_

_"I didn't say that."_

Tsunade's face quickly replaced Kakashi's.

_"She still has her memories, but they're locked somewhere deep in her mind that only her subconscious can reach. That's how she gave those answers, but didn't know what she was talking about."_

_"But she said she loved me, and that certainly couldn't be in her memories except from when she took the potion, which wasn't real love anyway!"_

Next came Sakura herself.

_As Naruto finished his last noodle with a burp, Sakura said, "I like this stuff."_

_Naruto looked at her. "Really? You've always said you didn't really like it."_

_"Hmm...maybe I was lying, then."_

_"Yeah...you've always said you hated me, too."_

Naruto looked up at Sakura and grinned. "You like me, don't you?"

Naruto was reminded of the same Sakura that had been under the influence of the love potion. She crossed her arms and looked away from him, pushing her lips out in a pout. "Do not!"

Naruto stood up and walked towards her. "Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Ha!" Naruto pointed at her with a triumphant grin. "Gotcha!"

Sakura scowled. "You baka, you made me say-"

Naruto cut her off with a peck on her lips.

Sakura gaped at him as he pulled away. "What the hell did you do that for?"

Naruto grinned. "Just returning the favor from last night!"

"Oh please, I can do better than that!" Sakura blurted out without thinking.

"What was that? I sense a challenge..." Naruto said, while Sakura stood stock-still, shocked by her own outburst.

She finally recovered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You sure you wanna find out?" Naruto said, leaning towards her.

Sakura dodged his lips and before he knew it, she was behind him. "Like you could catch me!"

Naruto smiled. "Do you not remember a few days ago, when you fought off fifty shadow clones, only to be caught by me?"

"Whatever. I was half-asleep."

"Oh, so you wouldn't fall for anything like that right now?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The hell I would!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Oh yeah?"

Sakura felt two arms wrap around her from behind.

"Dammit Naruto! When'd you do this?"

"When I was gathering chakra at my feet. That was just a distraction so I could summon my shadow clone!"

Sakura smiled. "Smart. But you just told me which one's the fake!" She elbowed the Naruto holding her in the ribs, and he poofed away. Naruto frowned.

"Hmph. Well, guess you should get your reward!" Naruto cried, pushing out his lips and running towards her.

"Naruto! Stop trying to kiss me!" Sakura cried, turning and dashing out of the alley before he could reach her.

"Oh, c'mon, you know you want me!" Naruto shouted after her. Sakura giggled but kept on running, but Naruto caught up quickly this time and tackled her off the road and into the grass, pinning her down just like she had done to him.

"What are you gonna do now?" he asked with a smirk.

Sakura smirked back. "So...you want to kiss me, huh?"

Naruto nodded, suddenly turning serious. He let go of Sakura and climbed off of her, allowing her to sit up next to him.

"Why?" she asked. "Why do want to kiss me so badly? And date me? Especially after I hit you and make fun of you all the time?"

"I don't know, really. That's just part of our relationship, I guess. I'd rather it not be, if you could help it, though."

Sakura sighed. "What, so you'd rather have a romantic relationship instead?"

"Duh. Finally caught on after three years, huh?"

"Ha ha. Well, fine then. I give up. I'm probably just making things harder for the both of us, anyway." She looked at him.

"Does that mean..." Naruto started.

"Yes, Naruto, I like you. A lot. And I really don't want to, but I do. Happy?"

Naruto's whole body shook with excitement as he looked back at her, his face got all scrunched up, and a tear rolled down his cheek. "Sakura-chan...you have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that!" Naruto's body shook even more, and finally he jumped up to his feet and raised his fists above his head. "SAKURA-CHAN LIKES ME!"

If there had been villagers on the road at that moment to stare at him, they would have. As it was, Naruto's announcement was followed with an awkward silence.

"Er...Naruto, calm down," Sakura said, patting the ground next to her. Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes, and with a quick sniff, sat down next to Sakura again. He stared at her for a second, before glomping her and showering her face with kisses.

"Ew...Naruto! I like you but, this is kind of disgusting!" Sakura cried, finally getting a good grip on him and shoving him away.

"Okay, okay...be calm, Naruto...be calm..." Naruto whispered aloud to himself, settling his shaking down to a small shudder. Sakura watched him with one eyebrow raised.

"AH! I CAN'T HELP IT!" Naruto shouted after a moment, tackling Sakura in another hug, who tried in vain to fight him off.

"Naruto...stop it!" Sakura exclaimed, unable to keep the laughter from coming out in her voice.

Hinata watched them from a nearby bush, sighing to herself and staring at her bandaged hand. "I guess I'll n-never end up with Naruto-kun a-after all..." She stood up silently, turning around to walk away, and froze. "K-Kiba! W-what are you d-doing here?"

Kiba stood in front of her, both hands behind his back. "Uh...hey Hinata!" he said with a nervous smile. "Um..." He awkwardly brought both hands to his front to reveal a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates. "I know it's kind of cliche, but I got you these..."

Hinata slowly took them from him. "Thanks?" she said uncertainly. "Um...w-what are they for?"

"Er..." Kiba blushed. "No reason. I just thought you deserved them is all."

"Oh...th-thanks, I guess,"

"So...where are you going from here?" Kiba asked.

Hinata sighed. "P-probably home. Why?"

"Um...can I walk you home, then?" Kiba asked, holding out his hand.

Hinata looked from Kiba's anxious face to the hand he held out towards her. "S-sure, Kiba..."

Hinata reached out nervously, and took hold of Kiba's hand, entertwining her fingers with his. Giving her a small smile, which she nervously returned, Kiba led Hinata home, leaving Naruto and Sakura, who were far too busy kissing and laughing to notice them, behind.

And somewhere very far away, in the outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village, when Orochimaru's back was turned, Sasuke smiled.

**The End!**


End file.
